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1 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



Daly's Billiard Book 



Illustrated with more than 400 Diagrams, 

30 Technical Photographs and 

3 ''Strategy'' Maps 



By 

MAURICE DALY 



Winner of Three World Championships 



Edited by William Welton Harris 

Member of the Executive Committee of the National Association 
of Amateur Billiard Players 



Diagrams and Maps by Frederic P. Mitchell 
Photographs by Albert Hedley 




CHICAGO 

A. C. McCLURG & CO. 

1913 



.li3 



Copyright December, 1913 

BY 

WILLIAM WELTON HAERIS 



F. HALL PRINTING COMPANY, CHICAGO 



^X.-HT 



'C!,A358586 



DEDICATION 

^T^HIS volume is devoted to the extension 
among amateurs of a better understanding 
of the theory and practice ot*! position play" in 
" ball-to-ball " billiards. In particular, it aims to 
make clearer and of practical value the methods 
of modern experts in ^^ system " play. It considers 
shots in their serial relation rather than as indi- 
vidual strokes, and lays stress not so much on 
the shot to GET the balls together as the shots to 
KEEP them together. 

It is dedicated to the amateur billiard players 
of America ; and should it attain, even in small 
degree, the objects intended, it will be sufficient 
recompense for the years of study and work 
involved in its preparation. 

MAURICE DALY 



CONTENTS 

PAET I 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I Purpose of the Book. Development of Position 

Play. Famous Plays and Players 1 

II Some Primary Points for Beginners 20 

ni Diagrams for Beginners 32 

PAET II 

rV Some general Considerations on Position Play... 57 

V Don't Drive (or Shoot Hard) till you have to 61 

VI Other things equal, the Short Drive is better than 

the Long Drive 72 

VII Avoid a Long Drive of both Balls 73 

VIII Avoid a Long Drive of the second Object Ball. . 78 

IX Keep the Balls in the ' ' Short Table* ' 81 

X A Shot which leaves the Cue Ball far from both 

Object Balls, is generally a Bad Shot 90 

XI Along the EaU, choose that Shot which will leave 
the Cue Ball ''outside" (nearer Mid-table) of 

the Object Balls 100 

XII Keep both Balls *' ahead" of you 106 

XIII Avoid leaving Cue Ball *' frozen" to the Cushion 114 

XIV On short Follows, Drives, and Caroms, look out for 

** Line-ups" and *' Tie-ups" that come from 

Landing on the Second Ball too softly 116 

XV A *'dead" Draw, Follow, or Masse is generally 

better than a ' * Live" one 125 

XVI On Open Table Shots, if nothing better offers, try 
to leave at least One Ball near a Cushion, and 
if possible near a Corner 126 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XVII Getting out of Holes (a Semi-advaneed Position 
Play). A Consideration of Various useful Shots 
which are of great help in Certain Unusual 
Positions 130 

PAET III 

XVIII Second Ball Play... , 143 

XIX The ' ' Chuck-Nurse'' 158 

XX The ^'Eub-Nurse'' 162 

XXI The '' Anchor-Nurse '\ 164 

XXII The *'Eail-Nurse" 166 

XXIII The ' ' Eail-Nurse, ' ' Continued 169 

XXIV Eecovery of Position from other Faulty Leaves in- 
side the Five-inch Line 173 

XXV Eecovery of Position from other Faulty Leaves in- 
side the Five-inch Line, Continued 176 

XXVI Eecovery of Position when the Outside Ball gets 

over the Five-inch Line 179 

XXVII ''Turning the Corner'' shots 182 

XXVIII Eail-Nurse Principles apply to the ''Balk-Line" 

Nurse 184 

XXIX ' ' Turning Back" with the Line Nurse 189 

XXX Getting "the Line" from certain frequent Leaves 192 

XXXI Getting "the Eail-Nurse" Position 211 

XXXII Good Position Shots from bad Leaves 217 

XXXIII "Going Through" and other useful Points on 

close Manipulation 227 

XXXIV Useful Points on Certain Frequent Leaves 244 

XXXV On the Value of the Inch 252 

XXXVI Comparative Theory of Straight Eail, Balk Line, 

and Cushion Caroms 256 

XXXVII Don'ts, Do's, and Points on Practice 270 



PART I 

By the Editor 



Daly's Billiard Book 

CHAPTER I 

PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK, WITH SOME INTERESTING 
FACTS CONCERNING THE DEVELOPMENT OF POSI- 
TION PLAY TO ITS MODERN FORM, AND THE 
SHARE TAKEN THEREIN BY FAMOUS PLAYERS 

ONE who really desires to excel in any department of 
human endeavor must, unless he be of that quality 
of genius which is a guide unto itself, seek out in print 
those things which other men have learned, and thus 
easily and quickly add them to his own equipment. In 
this lies the greatest value of printing. 

In astronomical study, for instance, one takes his 
basic mathematics as developed in turn by Assyrian, 
Arab, Greek, Roman, monks of the Middle Ages, and 
all the others down to the present-day expositor of the 
mysteries of the calculus and of the fourth dimension. 

Book Study of Games. — In games, too, the wise man 
takes advantage of the experience of others. The whist 
student reads Hoyle, Elwell, or Foster. The golfer 
studies Vardon, Taylor, Braid, or Travers, besides taking 
lessons from his club professional. 

Strangely enough, in light of these admitted facts, 
each billiard player who would learn the really modern 
game is forced to traverse almost the whole ground anew. 

Position Play Neglected by Writers. — The writer has 

1 



2 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

had the pleasure of examining such books on the tech- 
nique of the game as are obtainable and some that are 
rare and out of print — this both in English and French. 
Only one — "Modern Billiards," an excellent work and 
well worth while — is at all easy to find. It is issued by 
the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company. 

And while giving these writers credit for their pains- 
taking efforts, it was the fact that in not one of all of 
these books is the matter of position play in its modem 
niceties entered into, except as to the -first shot, that 
caused the writer to attempt the task of presenting in 
print that single thing that every billiard player most 
needs — a helpful presentation of " position play." That 
is the one thing that makes the game a never-ending 
study and joy. 

'^ Sequential-ness" of Shots, — There is in no other 
available work any suggestion that certain broad princi- 
ples of play may be developed to guide the player to a 
solution of his position play problems ; no suggestion of 
arranging shots in general categories; no indication of 
— and perhaps nothing is of more importance — what 
tempting shot to avoid — tempting by reason of the 
certainty of the immediate count of one point, treach- 
erously deceptive because it adds to that certainty the 
probability of no more. In other words, the " sequen- 
tial-ness " is not the thing emphasized, but the count, in 
nearly every diagram in all billiard books up to this 
time. 

''Second Ball Play'' (''Landing" Right),— Oi 
"second ball play" — that refinement of position work 
that marks one of the greatest differentials between the 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 3 

old game and strictly modem billiards — of that not a 
word. Cushion shots? Yes! *'Ball to ball" system 
play, nothing! 

Given an average player, one who can play simple 
caroms, understands the " draw " and " follow " shots, 
can average, say, around one (that is, can make 100 
points in 100 innings at straight three-ball billiards) 
— ^ where in printed form can he find any explanation of 
the baffling fact that he, who can execute single shots as 
well as the man who can average five or more, and who 
runs sometimes from twenty-five to fifty, cannot make 
these contrary ivory balls behave for him. It is this want 
that circumstances, almost by accident, led Mr. Daly and 
the editor of this volume to try to fill. 

Needs of the Average Player, — It is the point of 
view of the average player that is in this volume regarded 
as of the greatest importance and which has been con- 
stantly kept in mind. 

In this manual the major attention is given not, the 
reader will notice, to description of fancy shots, nor, 
except in a small degree, to directions for the acquirement 
of that delicacy or extremely fine calculation which the 
highest class professional must undertake, but to the 
production of an easily understood guide to the acquire- 
ment of the billiard knowledge which, from a good, ordi- 
nary "leave" (the kind that every player is constantly 
getting), will enable this average player to roll up runs 
of at least 5, or 6, or 8, or 10 points, instead of 2 or 3. 

MAURICE DALY, THE TEACHER 

Let us hope it will not be too personal to tell about 



4 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

the chain of circumstances and the deciding reason that 
led to the writing of this book. 

It so happened one winter that the editor of this vol- 
ume put in an afternoon playing billiards with Maurice 
Daly in his New York academy. Mr. Daly could not 
help, though he said never a word while playing, but 
teach. He teaches for love of the game, and many of 
our best amateurs, yes, and professionals, owe to him 
much of their equipment and skill. The teaching 
instinct is in him. 

Even as Frank Ives came to be known as "The Na- 
poleon" of billiards, as Jacob Schaefer "The Wizard," 
George Slosson "The Student," Maurice Daly should 
be known as "The Teacher." And who shall say that 
this old winner of three world championships, who still 
has the famous " diamond cue," although less than " The 
Napoleon," "The Wizard," or "The Student" in fame 
as maestro, has not the greater gift.? 

And as an example of his progressive ideas let me 
remark in passing that it was Mr. Daly who first sug- 
gested and put in practice in a tournament in 1913 the 
rule of separating "frozen" balls by a card. He is] 
ever experimenting. 

Added to the afternoon with Mr. Daly, above men-! 
tioned, others followed, and then more. Those wintersi 
afternoons began with the pupil just the ordinary player 
found anywhere, to whom a run of fifteen was a rare|! 
delight. In comparatively few weeks averages of better I 
than five at eight een-inch balk-line, and runs of better! 
than thirty were frequent, and occasionally the fifty-! 
mark was passed. One happy day he averaged sixteen j 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 5 

in two hundred points. A "straight-rail" run of one 
hundred and ninety-two and a balk-line run of seventy- 
four still later lent cheer to the heart and an exhilaration 
that is still not dead. Blessed by these happenings of 
kind Fortune the writer determined that others should 
share such of his instruction as he could make clear by 
diagram and printed word. 

Now let it be said that the credit for this manual is 
Mr. Daly's. Every word of its technical text on " posi- 
tion play " proper has passed under his exceedingly strict 
blue pencil. Many of the diagrams he personally drew. 
All were personally suggested, and personally super- 
vised, and many redrawn several times to meet his strict 
demands. All are taken from the storehouses of his bil- 
liard information. The writer had the advantage and 
pleasure of cooperation in the work, doing, as it were, 
the secretarial labor and attending to the many details 
necessary to publication in both newspaper and book 
form. The three maps alone are solely of the editor's 
invention, but they came from Mr. Daly's explicitly 
stated views, so the credit for them is his. 

Sources of Information. — The editor must assume 
responsibility for the introductory chapter and for the 
chapter on preliminary work for the beginner in bil- 
liards. They are founded upon a playing experience of 
more than twenty-five years, a personal and billiard 
playing acquaintance with or careful observation of the 
methods of such masters as Maurice Daly, Frank Ives, 
Jacob Schaefer, George Slosson, George Sutton, Ora 
Morningstar, Albert Taylor, Jose Ortiz, Calvin De- 
marest, Louis Cure of France, Thomas J. Gallagher, 



6 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

Albert Cutler, Leonard Howison, Eugene Carter, Harry 
Cline, Koji Yamada of Japan, Timothy Flynn, and 
Alfred de Oro among the professionals, and of J. Ferdi- 
nand Poggenburg, Edward W. Gardner, Martin Mullen, 
Wilson P. Foss, Orville Oddie, Jr., Charles F. Conklin, 
Morris D. Brown, Lucien M. Rerolle of France, Edouard 
Roudil of France, and Albert Poensgen of Germany, 
besides numerous lesser lights. 

It so happens that with the exception of — at this 
date, 1913 — George F. Slosson and Thomas J. Galla- 
gher, Maurice Daly is the only prominent player 
living in America whose span of playing years is coinci- 
dent with the complete development of the modem game 
of carom billiards. His professional career has put him 
as opponent to practically every master of the cue in all 
the years from the sixties, beginning with Michael 
Phelan, down to the present day. And while his active 
competitive career closed with the decade of the nineties, 
before the days of Willie Hoppe, George Sutton, and 
Ora Momingstar, yet he helped develop their play, and 
has had the opportunity of studying their style, system, 
and methods to the most intimate detail. 

With Mr. Daly to watch was to study, to compare, to 
analyze, to assimilate, and to make of value to other 
students. 

Maurice Daly was born in New York City, April 25, 
1849. His mother's cousin, Dudley Kavanagh, the first 
American professional champion, had several billiard 
rooms in the city, and thus it was that at the age of thir-j 
teen he began his billiard career. Yet, while leaving 
school thus early, young Daly never ceased being a] 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 7 

student. He has traveled extensively in Europe and 
elsewhere, and has widely read, and in his trips abroad 
with other players his knowledge of French has often 
served the entire party. 

Early Billiards and Players. — Beginning himself 
to play publicly in the later sixties, he has had the oppor- 
tunity to study the play of all the experts in that forma- 
tive period of the game. In those days billiards was 
generally played on the big 6 by 12 or 5|^ by 11 pocket 
table, with four balls. It was not until the seventies that 
the pure carom game, on a 5 by 10 table, became stand- 
ard and the number of balls reduced to three. In those 
days the " rail nurse," the " balk line nurse," etc., were 
unknown. The masse shot had just appeared. It came 
from France, and Mr. Daly's recollection is that M. 
Berger first showed it here as a standard shot. 

Michael Phelan, sometimes called "the father of bil- 
liards," a fine player who flourished in the forties, fifties, 
and sixties, and who got the starting capital for his 
billiard table manufacturing career by winning a $15,- 
000 match in 1859 from John Seereiter, wrote a book on 
billiards, which is curious and interesting at the present 
day. Of the masse shot he said : " None but an expert 
will attempt this shot. The cue is held very upright, 
and care must be taken not to let the cue tip touch the 
cloth or a tear will result." Good advice it is still. 

Appearance of the Three-Ball Game. — The three-ball 
carom game, while not becoming standard until the sev- 
enties, began to be played to some extent by the experts 
in the later sixties, but still on the 6 by 12 pocket table. 
How enormous one looks to us now ! 



8 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

Position play, as we know it, was unknown to even the 
best of them. 

It is curious, indeed, to note the scores in " class " 
games. In 1863, only two months after Dudley Kava- 
nagh had become champion, he played a match with Isi~ 
dore Gayraud for $100 a side, and beat him 150 to 141, 
averaging 1.49/100, with a high run of 11. Funny, 
isn't it.f^ Mr. Daly was marker in that game. In 1868, 
A. P. Rudolphe, in a match with John Deery (both after- 
wards champions), won with 150 to 100, averaging 5, 
and 30 was his high run. And that was top-notch bil- 
liards at that time. And it must be remembered that the 
multiple system of counting prevailed, caroms counting 
two or more, according to the balls struck, and pocketing 
the balls also counted in multiples. 

First Championship Tournament, — The first tourna- 
ment in America at the three-ball game for the cham- 
pionship of the world was held in New York in 1873, 
and Maurice Daly tied for first place with Albert 
Garnier and Cyrille Dion, the Canadian. Gamier, the 
Frenchman, won the play-off. Knowledge of the game 
had progressed so that the winner ran 113 in this tourna- 
ment and one player got up to an average of 17.11/17. 
It was in this year that George Slosson and Jacob 
Schaefer had the first of their almost countless matches. 
Slosson won with an average of 5.5/11, but Schaefer 
had the high run of 45. No balk lines then, remember. 

I speak of these records merely to show the particular] 
stage of the development of systematic position play 
that marked the billiards of that time. Young Daly 
was there to see it to note the various position plays m 






DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 9 

they were developed, to see the game grow. As he in 
later years rose to a capacity of averages as high as 50, 
and runs in the hundreds at the 18-inch balk-Hne game 
(he averaged 40 at 18.1 with the writer, at 400 points, 
only recently), it shows the long route over which he 
had to travel. 

Some of this increase in speed is due undoubtedly to 
the improvement in tables, tools, cushions, cloth, chalk. 
Cues in those days were generally long and light ; today 
they are shorter, stockier, and much heavier. And last, 
but not least, is the improvement in table lighting. 

The old-day players will tell you that in the skill of 
making the single shot the early players were the equal 
of anyone today. Jacob Schaefer could, for the single 
shot, do almost anything in the seventies that he could 
do in the nineties. But where he was wanting was in the 
knowledge of how to " flock the ivory sheep." He lacked 
knowledge, not skill. 

Many a player today knows more billiards than he 
can execute. In fact, nearly every good amateur knows 
the theory of the "rail" and "balk-line" nurses. Only 
a few can make them heavily remunerative. Nearly every 
professional knows the theory of the "anchor." Only 
Ives and Schaefer ever had the marvelous mastery of 
nerves and muscles to make big runs by it. 

Let us look at a list of the names of the masters who 
developed the game, and all of whose methods Daly 
knew and studied intimately. I name holders of cham- 
pionships only, with the date of their first winning that 
honor. I bring the list up only to the time of Frank 
Ives, for the reason that with the exception of George 



10 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

Sutton's improvements in the balk-line nurse no later 
players have developed anything that ranks as an im- 
portant discovery of system in play. 

Beginning in the later sixties, with Michael Phelan, 
he has studied the billiards of the following champions: 
Dudley Kavanagh (June 9, 1863, to May 16, 1865), 
Louis Fox (1865), John Deery (1865 and 1866), Jo- 
seph Dion (1866 and 1867), John McDevitt (1867), 
A. P. Rudolphe (1870), Frank Parker (1871), Cyrille 
Dion (1871-1873), Albert Gamier (1873), Maurice 
Vignaux (1875), William Sexton (1877), Jacob 
Schaefer (1879), George F. Slosson (1880), Frank C. 
Ives (1892). 

Each of these had his personal excellencies, his idio- 
syncrasies, and each has contributed to the fund of bil- 
liard information which has led to the game as it is today. 
In Daly's billiard "college" the faculty has included 
every famous professor of the last forty years. 

In the sixties the game began to be too fast as played 
by the experts and an era of limitations set in. First 
the two side pockets were dispensed with. Then all the 
pockets. In the early seventies the three-ball game sup- 
planted the four-ball game as the professional test. 

Birth of the *' Rail-Nurse.^' — Authorities differ as to 
the exact details of the birth of the "rail-nurse." John 
A. Thatcher, in " Billiards Old and New," holds that a 
nurse played by Rudolphe may be considered the germ 
of the idea. Maurice Daly rather gives the credit to a 
nurse played by Joseph Dion. Rudolphe, with the balls 
"frozen" close together on the rail, as shown in Plate 
No. 1, would often make quite a run, say, from a dozen 



I 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



11 



points to twenty, before breaking them. Dion's plan of 
operation was different in that he started with one ball 
out from the rail a bit, 
similar to the "an- 
chor," as we know it. 
He would cross the face 
of the balls with a 
carom, and on coming 
back for another carom 
would work the balls 
back to or near the 
original position. This 
is also shown on Plate 
No. 1. 

Sexton and the 
" Rail-Nwrser—Bui it 
must be noted that 
both these plans con- 
templated holding the 
balls in one place or 
near it. It was a sta- 
tionary nurse, not a 
" running^^ nurse. 
William Sexton, ac- 
cording to Mr. Daly (others say Jacob Schaefer, though 
the probability is that both men worked it out about the 
same time), got the idea of carrying the balls along the 
rail as a running nurse, and in their hands it reached its 
perfection. The " rail " was speedily mastered by other 
experts until runs into the hundreds, and even the thou- 
sands, became matters of record. Maurice Daly was 




PLATE 1 



12 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

the first to cross the 200-mark in an important compe- 
tition, and got a warm kiss from an enthusiastic French 
professional for the feat. 

The balk-hne nurse, too, is a running nurse; indeed, 
it is an adaptation of the rail nurse, played at longer 
range from the cushion. The "anchor" and "chuck" 
nurses are stationary nurses. A running nurse leads from 
a given position through a series of steps to a renewal 
of that original position, and so on ad infinitum. 

But fully as important development of the time was 
the mastery that these early players attained in getting 
the rail from various positions. Sexton, Schaefer, Daly, 
or Harvey McKenna would get the rail position in a few 
shots just so surely as they got the balls at the end of 
the table. They would get the rail where the ordinary 
player would not see the chance. And as the man who 
got it first was almost sure to pile up a big run, they 
practiced getting the rail by hours from countless 
positions in the end of the table, just as later Ives prac- 
ticed getting the "anchor" position, or as nowadays 
experts practice getting the line. 

A fuller exposition of some of these devices will be 
found in Part III under chapters devoted especially to 
advanced play. 

Marvelous Runs on the Rail. — On May 15, 1879, 
Jacob Schaefer, in a championship match with George 
Slosson, ran out the 1,000 points in three innings 
(5, 690, 305), an average of 333^. On April 10,1880, 
in Paris, Maurice Vignaux made an 80 average in a 
4,000-point match with George Slosson, and made a run 
of 1,531. Slosson made a run of 1,103. Such work put 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 13 

straight-rail billiards to sleep as a competitive test for 
professionals. 

It may be noted in passing that in 1887, at Boston, 
Harvey J. McKenna made an average of 41 6f in 5,000 
points, and ran 2,57£ and 2,121. In San Francisco, 
May 29, 30 and 31, 1890, Jacob Schaefer ran 3,000 
points, unbroken. So it came about that schemes had to 
be devised to handicap the skillful players. 

The Day of Cushion Caroms, — All through the late 
seventies, and well into the eighties, the favorite plan 
was to confine the play to cushion caroms, and a grand 
game it was. Unfortunately it is too little played today. 
Never a better game, Mr. Daly holds, for the develop- 
ment of billiard skill! It was at cushion caroms that 
Maurice Daly and William Sexton attained world pre- 
eminence and their greatest fame. They were regarded 
in the later seventies and early eighties much as Schaefer 
and Slosson were in the late eighties, Schaefer and Ives 
in the nineties, Morningstar, Sutton, and Hoppe in the 
first decade of the twentieth century. They were the 
" king pins " of the billiard world. 

The " Champion's Game,'' — It was in the 1874 three- 
ball tournament, won by Maurice Vignaux, that a " balk " 
line first appeared. It was a line drawn diagonally across 
the corners from points on the side rails 5J inches from 
the comer. This was to prevent "crotching" the balls 
in the corner and to stop the progress of a rail-nurse. 
Afterwards the triangular space was increased by mak- 
ing the beginning points of the balk-line further down 
the side, generally 14 inches on the end rail and 28 on 
the side rail, as shown in Plate No. 2. This was termed 



14 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



the " champion's game," and it was at this game that 
George F. Slosson first won a championship. 

Its riddles were easy to masters of the rail-nurse. It 
had short vogue. Schaef er quickly showed how to nurse 
the balls along the rail to the contact point of the balk- 
line and, "turning" the balls, nurse them back again. 
Or he would "turn the comer" and start down the side 




PLATE 2 



rail. The champion's game as a vehicle for public com- 
petition began in 1879 and closed in 1884. 

Appearance of True Balk-Line, — Many plans for 
balk-lines have been suggested and some tried, but all 
have been discarded for the plan familiar at the present 
day. The lines are now drawn parallel to the side and 
end rails, 18 inches from the cushion. At first 8-inch 
lines were tried, then 12, then 14, and now 18 is the 
standard. It was over 14-inch lines that Ives did prac- 
tically all his greatest playing in competitions, although 
he made records at 18-inch. The 18-inch line became 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 15 

standard after his premature death from consumption 
in Mexico. 

In the balk-line game, with lines drawn on the cloth 
as shown in Plate No. S, there are eight rectangular 
spaces around the table near the rail and a mid-table 
space. In the middle the player may make all the points 
he can without being called upon to drive a ball outside 
the " balk space," as it is called. But he must in the 18.1 
game ( "one shot in " ), whenever both object balls are 
within any one of the balk spaces along the rails, drive 
at least one of the object balls across a line on the very 
first shot. It may go out and come back, but it must at 
any rate go out. 

In the 18.2 game ( "two shots in" ) he must drive at 
least one of the object balls across a line not later than 
the second shot after the object balls are " in balk." 

Mr. Thatcher, in "Billiards Old and New," credits 
Benjamin Garno, a noted writer on old-time billiards, 
with the suggestion of the continuous line around the 
whole table, terming it a " balk "-line. Heiser suggested 
that the lines intersect and the balk-line, as we know it, 
had its first public tournament in 1883 at 8 inches. Vig- 
naux's average of 44 5/6 in 3,000 points the following 
year caused the lines to be set out to the 12-inch position, 
and this was tried briefly in 1885. The 14-inch line be- 
came popular that year, and the extension to the 18-inch 
position was not found necessary, by reason of added 
skill of the players, till the nineties. 

In 1893 the full possibilities of the "anchor" were first 
realized and demonstrated by Jacob Schaefer, even as he 
had been a pioneer with the rail. Great, indeed, he was, 



16 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



and many hold him to have been the greatest player of 
all, master of the best of today. 

It is to be noted here that Frank C. Ives invented no 
standard nurse. They had been discovered when he ap- 
peared. But he mastered them all. To him billiards was 
distinctly an intellectual problem ; to Schaef er the game 
was a vehicle for the manifestations of inspired genius. 

The runs at the "anchor" by these two, the only 




PLATE 3 



players who ever really mastered it, brought the "box" 
at the contact points of the balk-lines to limit it. Charles 
Parker, of Chicago, suggested it, and "Parker's box" 
with the anchor position are shown in Plate No. 3. The 
same plate shows also the 18-inch balk-lines. 

The secret of the " anchor " play is to kiss softly from 
the first ball, just "grazing the glisten" of the second 
ball without moving it from its place, then playing back 
to the original position, just grazing the first ball and 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 17 

kissing up from the second ball, leaving it still against 
the cushion. This process is then repeated. 

Runs at the Anchor Nurse, — Schaef er ran 343 at the 
anchor against Ives in a match in November, 1893, in 
New York, and Ives answered Schaefer the following 
night with 456 at the same anchor nurse. In December, 
also in New York, Schaefer scored 566 at the anchor 
against Ives. 

In January, 1894, Ives, in a tournament, had a run of 
487. Parker's box followed. Yet there is no reason 
why amateurs should not practice the anchor. 

Today the standard test for amateurs is 18-inch balk- 
line, the balls to be put out of balk not later than the 
second shot (18.2), and the supreme professional test is 
the 18.1 game. 

Benefit of Rail-Nurse Practice. — In this treatise Mr. 
Daly explains by word and diagram (something which 
has never before been done in print) the rail-nurse in 
all its details. The rail-nurse is the foundation nurse, 
its principles applying in every other form of close 
manipulation. It should be studied for the benefit of 
the general game, for upon its mastery skill at all the 
other nurses is founded. No practice for the billiardist 
is more conducive to the development of delicacy of 
touch, sub-conscious appreciation of force, and of the 
amount and kind of "English" required in all close 
manipulation. No other practice will so certainly restore 
the stroke lost through excessive three-cushion carom 
play. It is of the highest value as manual training for 
other ball-to-ball billiards. 

The accomplished violinist practices "bowing" by the 



18 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

hour. The pianist works on his "scales," other hours 
on "fingering." And so the billiard player, to acquire 
mastery of his game, should pay attention to the 
fundamentals. 

In this work Frank Ives stood supreme. If, as some- 
one has said, "Genius is the capacity for hard work," 
then Ives had genius. He would spend from four to six 
hours a day on the "anchor," for instance, or the 
"chuck," trying in various ways to get these conven- 
tional positions from various leaves. Other hours he 
spent on single-cushion shots or on masses, or on close 
manipulation to "go through" the balls. 

In 1893, before his celebrated match with John Rob- 
erts, of London, one of the really great billiard players 
of the world, Ives spent an average of four hours a day 
practicing on a big English game table (6 by 12) with 
the small balls, perfecting the anchor and the rail-nurses 
with these tools. It was his great run of 2,540 in a posi- 
tion near one of the corner pockets similar to the anchor- 
nurse that enabled him to defeat the great Roberts at 
the English game, and win thousands of dollars for him- 
self and many friends. He made the run at the anchor, 
but he had to use the rail-nurse to get the balls to the 
place where they became anchored. 

Roberts and the Rail-Nurse, — Roberts was to Eng- 
land what Maurice Vignaux was to France, what j 
Schaefer and Ives were to America. But he did not 
know the rail-nurse. Afterward, when under Ives' 
instruction he mastered it, he doubled and trebled his 
previous records. 

In patient practice Ives outdid even Slosson, "The 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 19 

Student." No other great player spent such time over 
the details, unless perhaps we except the work of George 
Sutton on the " line "-nurse, at which in his best day he 
led all the rest. 



CHAPTER II 

SOME PEIMAEY POINTS FOE BEGINNEES 

T T ALF the battle, if not more than half, is in begin- 
•*- -*■ ning well. A player will have twice the chance of 
developing a really good game of billiards if at first 
he acquires a good style. 

And what is good style? I use the term to indicate 
the position at table and a method of stroke which leads 
to mechanical accuracy and ease. There may be grace 
as well, but that is in large part a question of the phys- 
ical attributes of the player. It would be difficult, indeed, 
for Albert Poensgen, the great German amateur, to ac- 
quire grace with his six feet two inches of height, his 
long legs and arms, and short body. No amount of i 
practice could ever make his attitude and stroke look 
like that of Jacob Schaef er. Yet his stroke is one of the 
most accurate. 

How Masters Differ in Stroke. — Great artists differ. 
Jacob Schaef er, Willie Hoppe, and Maurice Daly were 
not blessed with height. They learned billiards in boy- ' 
hood, when even shorter than in later years. Naturally 
they learned to hold the cue off to one side and rather 
high. They could reach the balls in no other way. 

Maurice Vignaux, George Slosson, Martin Mullen, 
Calvin Demarest, Thomas J. Gallagher, Alfred deOro, 
and Edouard Roudil stand for ordinary shots more 

20 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 21 

directly over the cue, the forearm hanging down and 
swinging like a pendulum from the elbow as an almost 
motionless pivot. This is the style that gives least of 
the "side-to-side" or "teetering" (up and down) mo- 
tion in swinging the cue back and forth. For aU except 
short men this is the style which beginners will do well to 
acquire. 

Even as the violinist practices bowing, the pianist 
fingering, and the golfer the "swing," so should the 
beginner learn a good style of stroke at the very start. 
Then no bad habits are formed which it is almost impossi- 
ble thereafter to break. 

If this style be orthodox, it is true that Schaefer, 
Daly, and Hoppe have become great artists with un- 
orthodox styles. It is a question, however, if their meth- 
ods of stroke have not, nevertheless, been an impediment 
rather than a help. 

The importance of a good style is urged, not because 
it is a sine qua non of success but because it is of very 
important assistance. Personally, the writer of this 
chapter is of the opinion that these men have become 
great players in spite of their cueing style. 

Calvin Demarest, under the tutelage of his early-day 
teacher, Lansing Perkins, and later by himself, has car- 
ried this study of cueing style further perhaps than any 
other prominent player of the day, and the hints here- 
after following are along the lines he follows in instruc- 
tion for beginners. 

Style for Older Players. — To players of long stand- 
ing with methods already " set," I would say : " Do not 
attempt to change unless you are prepared to learn bil- 



22 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

liards all over again, and to practice the new style for at 
least three afternoons a week for a month before again 
playing a contest game." You may not think that 
worth the trouble, though the writer did, and experienced 
a most pronounced benefit in his game as a result. 

The Cue. — No professional or amateur of note today 
uses a cue lighter than SO ounces, and 22 ounces is the 
weight used by most players. Willie Hoppe uses 20 and 
21-ounce cues. Frank Ives used a 23-ounce cue, and 
Miss May Kaarlus, the fancy shot player, used a 24- 
ounce cue. 

The Tip. — Use only the best French tips. Let them 
be not too small, medium in hardness, and of fair thick- 
ness. Better too thick than too thin. 

The Grip. — It is important to cultivate a good, firm 
grip that will give a smooth, yet " solid," stroke and 
command of the delivery of the tip to the cue ball. Do 
not take the cue too far forward. ( See Plate 4. ) 

The very loosely held cue has a special use more par- 
ticularly in making long or quickly acting draw shots, 
but for ordinary work it is better to err on the side of 
holding the cue too firmly, rather than too lightly. 
Better in the full hand than in the tips of thumb and 
finger only. (See Plate 5.) 

Do not take hold at the butt end. This will give a 
"teetering stroke" ; that is, the up-and-down motion. 
(See Plate 6.) 

The Right Way to Grip a Cue. — Let the cue sink ; 
sohdly into the curve between the first finger and the ; 
thumb, the major part of the "squeeze" of the hand 
being done by the roots of the thumb and base of the 




PLATE 4 
Showing "grip" too far forward 




PLATE o 
A poor "grip," in the finger tips 




PLATE 6 
Another poor grip — too near the butt 




PLATE 7 
The best place to grip the cue 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 23 

forefinger. Take hold of the cue just a shade forward 
of or at the center of the twine whipping on the butt. 
This is the point where the cue balances the best. This 
grip gives not only solidity, but permits the full meas- 
ure of wrist flexibility. (See Plate 7.) 

Light and Loose Grips. — For quickly acting short 
draws some players seize the cue solidly, almost with a 
squeeze, with a whole fist grip. They say it forces the 
cue "through the ball" better, makes a fast draw, with 
less force going into the object ball. For a long, quick 
draw the very loose grip seems to be more effective. 

To Get a Good " Stance" — And now let me point out 
a sure way of getting a good "stance" (position), to 
draft a very expressive golfing term, for any ordinary 
shot, be it draw, follow, or "spread" (wide-angled 
carom), or "dead ball." 

Now, do this slowly, one step at a time, and do it over 
and over again. It may seem artificial at first, but, like 
the violinist's artificially acquired method of bowing or 
the golfer's painfully practiced "swing," it becomes 
second nature. In time you will do it instantly and 
absolutely unconsciously. You could hardly do it other- 
wise. 

Step 1, — Take the cue solidly in the U formed by the 
thumb and forefinger, gripping the cue just a shade 
forward of the center of the whipping on the butt. ( See 
Plate 8.) 

Step 2. — Rest the big thumb joint of the cue hand 
on the point of the hip bone, over the seam of the 
trousers. ( See Plate 9. ) 

Step 8. — Face directly forward, along a line parallel 



24 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

to the line the cue ball is going to go on the shot. Don 3 
face the cue ball itself. Heels fairly close together. 
(See Plate 10.) 

Step Jf.. — Let the tip of the cue (the hand still resting 
on the hip) just reach to the top of the cue ball, without 
any sensation of leaning forward to reach that point. 
Your distance, now, from the cue ball is exactly right 
for all ordinary shots in the open table. (See Plate 11.) 

Note at this point: you are now facing squarely for- 
ward, directly in the line of play. The cue points a 
straight line from the hip along a course the ball is to 
follow. But note this particularly: you are not facing 
the cue ball. But you will feel in ^^our arms and body 
the aim of the shot, just the feel the pitcher has in his 
muscles when about to pitch the baseball, or that the 
archer has when about to let go with his arrow, or the 
boy about to throw a stone. They do not sight with the 
eye, as the marksman does ; they feel it all in the muscles. 

Step 5. — Advance the left foot (or right foot for a 
left-handed player) a moderate step, directly forward. 
Not too long a step, not too short, and don't straddle or 
sprawl. (See Plate 12.) 

Step 6. — Now turn the toe of the right foot a little 
outward. Don't turn the heel inward, but the toe out- 
ward. (Left foot for a left-handed player.) (See 
Plate 13.) 

Step 7. — Place the bridge hand solidly and well 
spread out on the table for your bridge. Next arch the 
hand, and then rest the cue on the V between the thumb 
and first finger, as shown in detail on Plate 19. 

Step 8. — Settle back! That is, as it were, "sit 




o oj 



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^I^^^IKiSi 


M 


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■HP 


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fin 




DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 25 

down " a bit to the shot. You are now in a perfect cue 
position. (See Plate 14.) 

Your eyes are now directly over the line of the cue 
and the hall. You are looking straight ahead through 
both eyes, not out of the corner of the eyes or sidewise. 
(See Plate 15.) 

In Plates 16 and 17 you see common but extremely 
faulty positions, where a good sight at things is much 
more difficult. 

In the position advocated the natural pendulum swing 
of the forearm, hanging from the elbow, the upper arm 
moving little, if any, gives a cue swing freer from side 
strains than is possible from any other position. In 
this position there is no tendency toward rocking, teeter- 
ing, or jerking. In this position, having once got set 
for the stroke, you may shut your eyes and still make 
the finest hairline shot across the table. 

Like the pendulum, which always swings in the same 
arc, your swinging cue arm swings where it ought to, 
because there is nothing to pull it aside. 

Left-Hand Shots Made Easy, — And it will almost at 

I once give you the power, invaluable in good billiards, of 

' making left-hand shots almost as easily as right. You 

can even make left-handed masses, if they are not too 

■ difficult. 

I I do not declare that this plan is one without which 
j you cannot succeed. I put it forward as of the highest 
I value for learners, and for established players if they 
j care to devote the time necessary to unlearning old but 
less efficacious methods and to acquire the "feel" and 
! incidental mastery of the new. This will take some 



26 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

weeks, perhaps, but the steps above will give anyone a 
perfect position at the table. 

Power m a Good Position. — Great power of stroke is 
possible to nearly any player with this stance and stroke. 
Nine cushions can be struck, a feat few players can 
perform. 

A sixteen-year-old caddie boy with a good swing can 
drive a golf ball further than the strongest man with a 
bad swing. All his power is applied in direct lines, and 
no muscular energy is lost. Little Miss Kaarlus, the 
fancy shot player, now retired, could make shots hardly 
possible to any other player. Yet she was a mere slip 
of a girl in her teens, weighing, say, 120 pounds. It is 
not muscle; it is properly directed force. 

Control of Force, — With this position a higher de- 
gree of control of force is readily attainable. The 
power of the stroke is to a greater degree than in other 
styles controlled by the length of the swing rather than 
by the force of the punch. 

The Bridge, — But now to another important point, 
the bridge. A "solid" bridge is of very great impor- 
tance. I advise the use of two styles of bridge, one for 
"dead ball" shots and follows and caroms without 
"English," the other for draws. But I do not advise 
this to the exclusion of the one-style bridge so much 
used by most good players. The usual bridge is the 
locked-finger bridge. ( See A in Plate 18.) 

It is used in all styles of shots. The slight faults 
with it are these: that for shots where the cue tip hits 
the ball at center or above the hand naturally "curls 
up" some to make the bridge higher, and thereby be- 




A. THE ol^Dl^^AvI^Y 

LOCKED FINGEfZ 
BRIDGE. 




B. AN IMPI^OVED 
lOCKED FINGER^ 
BRIDGE. EORo 
DQAW SHOTS ONLY 



PLATE 1 8 



PUT THE HANDS 
WELL ON THE 
\TABLE. FINGERS 

jWELL SPREAD 

OUT. 



B.ARCH THE HAND 
BY DRAWING \N 
THE RNGERS(wEi 
APART3 PRESSING 
FINGER TIPS 
FIBMLV TO TABLE 
BED. 





CREST CUE OVl 
Y BETWEEN 
THUMB AND 
FIRST FINGtl^ 



PLATE 19 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 27 

comes less solidly founded on the table. The bridge 
hand rocks more easily. 

For draw shots it does not easily get low enough. 
Therefore, I advise a slight modification of the ordinary 
locked-finger bridge for draw shots, by simply tucking 
the long middle finger under the palm. It will surprise 
you to see what a help this is. ( See B in Plate 18.) 

This bridge is used when the tip hits the ball below 
center. The open-hand bridge is used for "dead ball," 
follow and carom shots when the tip strikes center or 
above center. But it must be made right, and this is the 
way to do it. ( See Plate 19, A, B, and C.) 

Step 1. — Place the whole hand, wide open, finger well 
spread apart, flat on the table. Let the "heel" of the 
palm rest firmly. ( See A in Plate 19.) 

Step %. — Now draw up the fingers, pressing the tips 
firmly against the cloth. Keep the fingers well spread 
apart. ( See B in Plate 19.) 

Step 3. — Let the thumb point slightly upward, mak- 
ing a V between the thumb and the base of the finger. 
Slide the cue in this V, which is so made that the roots 
of the thumb and forefinger can even squeeze the cue. 
( See C in Plate 19.) 

The Stroke, — Now you are in position to let the fore- 
arm swing easily, like a pendulum, from the elbow. Let 
your cue hand keep firm hold of the cue. Do not cramp 
up the hand or curve the wrist. The fingers are pointing 
toward the floor, but just naturally curved a trifle around 
the cue. The cue motion will be partly in the wrist and 
partly in the forearm, just as the motion of a good pen- 
man is partly in the fingers and partly in the forearm. 



28 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

The bridge hand is, say, eight to ten inches from the cue 
tip for ordinary shots, back stroke not too long. 

The ^^ Follow-Through.^^ — When a good bilHard 
stroke is made, it is, as Thomas J. Gallagher happily 
phrases it, a "measured" stroke. That is, it has no 
jerk. The cue "flows" smoothly forward. Though 
checked, of course, by the weight of the ball, never- 
theless it does not stop when the tip strikes the ball. 
The tip seeks to go on through the ball, as a golfer would 
term it; that is, it goes on well beyond the point where 
the ball lay. (See Plate 20.) And while the cue is 
checked in speed, it is not by reason of the player in- 
tentionally slowing the stroke. 

Le Coup Sec. — In passing, there is a short, sharp 
shock of a stroke that the French call "le coup sec" 
(dry stroke), which is useful in certain cases; for in- 
stance, when the cue ball is against a cushion and you 
wish to get a sharp, wide-angle carom shot. *'Le coup 
sec " is a stroke with the least possible " follow-through." 

Center-Ball Stroke to Get a "Dead Ball." — In a 
center-ball stroke (i. e., cue tip striking the ball in the 
center) the cue tip, when it passes the point where the 
ball lay, has a tendency to seek the cloth. For, as the 
cue comes forward, the cue butt comes up into the palm 
of the cue hand, which closes around the butt. (See 
Plate 21.) 

The "follow-through," or the feeling that the cue 
is going to follow through, is the sine qua non of a good 
draw or follow shot. The good stroke is not (except 
in special cases) the hammer tap (le coup sec). In fact, 
if you have trouble in making draw shots you find help 



I 




PLATE 2 
Showing how the tip in a good stroke "goes through" the ball 




PLATE 21 

Showing how in a "center ball" stroke for a "dead ball" the cue tip 
seeks the cloth after "going through" the ball 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



29 



in trying to make the tip of your cue push the eue ball 
against the object ball. You cannot possibly do it, but 
you will get the " follow-through " and a beautiful 
"draw" effect. It cannot help but draw if the tip 
strikes the cue ball below center, but not so far below as 
to cause a miscue. 

Cause of Miscues. — In passing, it may be said that 
miscues come almost invariably from one of two things: 
striking the cue ball too low, or elevating the butt 
just as the stroke is delivered, in an effort to strike low 



THE WAY TO CUE YOUR BALL TO AVOID MISCUE5. JUMPING 
or DALL OR TEARING CLOTH. 





WRjONG ' 



IRIGHT 



PLATE 22 

at the last instant. A good draw shot can be made 
with a tip which has not even been chalked if the stroke 
is delivered properly. Ninety-nine times out of a hun- 
dred the tip was not to blame when you made a miscue; 
it was your faulty stroke. Most miscues come, either in 
masse, draw^, or follow strokes, from striking the ball too 
near the edge. (See Plate 22.) 

Strokes Crescendo and Diminuendo. — Now another 
important point. A good stroke must be made " cres- 
cendo," as the musicians say ; that is, increasing in speed 



30 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

until contact. If the cue is traveling at an increasing 
rate (or, at any rate, not lessening) when the tip meets 
the cue ball, the effect will be obtained. If you " spare " 
the stroke, as the golfers put it, or flinch, or " let up " 
on it, the speed of the stroke becoming "diminuendo" 
(lessening in speed), the shot will fail in effectiveness. 
Many an intended wide carom, by reason of a flinching, 
diminuendo stroke, degenerates into a sickening follow. 
Timidity, for fear of driving the object ball too far, 
will cause you to "spare" the shot, with a resultant 
"foozle." 

To Gain Accuracy in Draws and Follows. — An impor- 
tant point about draws and follows is accuracy, for often 
it is of the most vital importance to land on the second 
ball in a certain spot, or on the ^dgQ. Too long a hack 
swing tends to swerving of the cue, with resultant in- 
accuracy. So do not overdo the back stroke. Better 
to err on the short side in making the back stroke than 
in bringing the cue too far back. And this is true also 
of follow shots. 

Importance of Concentration. — The importance of 
mental concentration on the shot can hardly be overesti- 
mated. Mr. Daly, in a series of billiard articles in the 
"New York Herald," wrote as follows, and it is perti- 
nent at this point of the discussion: 

"First, make up your mind what shot you are going 
to attempt before * addressing' the ball (taking cue 
position). Concentrate your attention on the spot of 
the first object ball which you are going to hit. Care- 
fully avoid letting the eyes wander, while delivering the 
stroke, away from that spot to the carom ball. Half of 



I 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 31 

the success in executing shots lies in the permanent habit 
of concentrated attention on the first ball." 

Avoid Fiddling, — I may add to this a caution against 
certain bad habits. Avoid waste motion and excessive 
preliminary fiddling. 

Aim Where You Want to Hit. — Aim the tip of the 
cue at the spot of the cue baU you want to strike. Some 
players aim low and then shoot high or right or left. 
Some aim right and in making the stroke cross over and 
hit left, or vice versa. These bad habits result in uncer- 
tainty of the amount of English or follow or draw, in 
miscues, or in " no action " when English is needed. 



CHAPTER III 

DIAGEAMS FOE BEGINNEES 

THE writer will take it for granted that the reader 
already knows the rudimentary shots at billiards — 
the plain carom, the follow, the draw, and the plain-angled 





Arrow /Vo. J, The point to strike for a Draiv Shot. 

• 2. - Plain Carom. 

•' 3, rollow Shot. 




PLATE 23 

cushion carom. But he will present here some phenom- 
ena — without any attempt at too exact and scientific an 
explanation — which have a direct bearing, not so much 
upon the single count, as upon position play possi- 
bilities. 

Simple Angles. — In Plate 23 is shown the way to 
determine, usually, the point on the object ball to hit 
for a plain, simple carom, a simple draw, or simple follow. 

32 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



33 



These will serve as bases, and variations from these must 
be learned by experience. 

For instance, note the spot indicated on the object 
ball in Plate No. 23, diagram No. 3, for a follow shot. 
That means hitting your cue ball above center. If you 
hit the same object ball in the same spot with your cue 
ball hit below center you get a draw shot. 

Plain Caroms. — First let us take up the plain carom 
and note some of its peculiarities due to friction of the 
cue ball on the cloth on its course to the object ball, 
these points often having a great bearing on position- 
play possibilities. 

In Plate 24 are shown three plain carom shots, stroke 
delivered at moderate speed. In diagram A the cue ball 




PLATE 24 



is hit center and the cue ball travels from object ball to 
carom ball in practically a straight line. 

In diagram B the cue ball is hit below center. The 
slight backward spin of the cue ball tends to draw the 



34 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

ball back in the direction of that backward spin, on 
account of friction with the cloth. 

In diagram C the cue ball is hit above center. The 



Dia.A. Much back spin Less Still less 



-o.-g.a ft-i^ ft a ^---^■- 



..». 



"^TADLE BED-^ 



Dia. B. Much 2>ack spin Less Forward roll 

—O A g ^- 



^TABLE BED-^ 
PLATE 25 

slightly accentuated forward spin tends to curve the 
ball forward, from the same causes. 

An increase of the speed of the stroke tends to accen- 
tuate the curves from the direct path. These facts are 
frequently of importance in choosing shots for position 
play. 

The Effect of Drag, — In Plate No. 25 is shown a 
position in which the drag or showing effect of the draw 
stroke (below center) is illustrated. The player's object 
is to hit the two balls softly, so as not to scatter them. 
There never was a geometrically perfect ivory sphere 
(all have porous centers), nor a perfectly flat billiard 
table. A slow ball going the full length of the table will 
roll off the direct line. So, if the ball is hit harder with 
" drag " it keeps its line, slows down from the effect of 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



35 



the friction of the cloth, and lands softly. A slow follow 
made from a distance is shown in the same plate, dia- 
gram B. The effect of the drag is lost just before the 
object ball is hit, the cue ball has started rolling forward, 
and a follow shot results. 

Angles of Incidence and Reflection Not Equal. — It 
will be seen that the angle of incidence against a billiard 
table cushion is not always equal to the angle of re- 
flection. A ball cued on top tends to rebound at a 
wider angle. A ball cued on the bottom tends to a 
sharper angk. (See Plate 26.) 

A ball hit hard sinks into the cushion and comes out 
at an angle more acute. With a lively cushion the phe- 
nomenon is even more marked. No two tables are ex- 
actly alike as to cushion speed, for rubber is a fickle 




PLATE 26 



thing. Then, too, a tight cloth is " faster " than a cloth 
under less tension. 

Difference in Elasticity of Ivory. — Again, similar 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 27 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 37 

phenomena are observed with reference to varying ivory. 
An old, cracked ball is less resilient than a new ball. A 
cold baU is less resilient than a warm one. Rubber, too, 
is less resilient when chilled. Every ivory ball has a 
porous core, and the centers of gravity of no two balls 
are exactly alike. Balls expand and contract under 
changing temperature almost as readily as mercury. 
And they expand more in one dimension than another, 
due to the grain of the ivory. 

This shows why it is futile to attempt to give dia- 
grams with exact angles, notations of exact degrees of 
force, etc. We can show general principles only, and 
practice and experience must guide the player. 

Now as to varying resiliency of ivory in its effect on 
carom shots. (See Plate 27.) 

Ball on a Curved Course. — The pupil will also note 
that with a draw stroke, the cue ball (striking object ball 
in the center) comes back in a straight line. If the line 
back be not directly back, but off at an angle, the cue ball 
in coming back sometimes describes more or less of a 
curve. This is due to the fact that the contact between 
cue and object balls not being full center, the cue ball 
passes the spot where the object ball lay before the 
draw spin takes full effect. (See Plate 28.) 

Plate 28 illustrates these tendencies toward increased 
curvature of path, increasing as to angle off a direct line 
back is increased. 

Top English. — In general, remember that a cue ball 
struck above the center tends to swerve "forward" (in 
a line parallel to its course from the cue tip to object 
ball) after contact with either a ball or a cushion. 



38 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



A cue ball struck below the center and having a hack 
spin at the time of contact tends to swerve backward, 
and a curve (called the "swell") 
results after a contact with either a 
ball or a cushion. 

A ball struck into a cushion at 

speed, with top, bottom or side 

spin, tends to come out from the 

djL_^^ cushion more affected by the Eng- 

V\^^--^j lish than a ball struck softly. Only 

' ' in the case of a ball struck very| 

softly and without English is thej 

angle of incidence equal to thej 

angle of reflection. 

Side English. — Now let us ex-' 
amine another very important 
phenomenon having a bearing at 
all times upon position play as well 
as on "the count." If a cue ball 
be struck by the cue tip to the 
right or left of its center (on the 
"side," if there can be said to be 
a side to a sphere), the ball will 
go not only forward, but it will 
also revolve at a greater or less 
speed around its up-and-down axis, 
to right or left, depending upon which "side" the 
ball was struck with the cue tip. When this spinning 
ball strikes a cushion and settles into it, the spin, by its 
friction in gripping the cushion cloth, tends to throw 
the ball, on its recoil, away from the natural angle. 




PLATE 28 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



39 



This side spin is what we term "English," though in 
England they call it "side" or "twist." Now, here is 
the first thing about English for the beginner to bear 
in mind: 

Right English throws the hall on the rebound to the 
right of the natural angle. 

Left English throws the hall on the rehound to the 
left of the natural angle. (See Plate 29, diagram B, 
Nos. 1, 2, and 3.) 






O 



] 2 d 

Diap'am 3, Showing effect 
of £n0/ish on Cuef>a/J , on iis 
return from CTie cushion. 

M. J. Left £/2pisA 

J/o.Z, Center f^all 

M.3.Ji'j$ht£i?^/7sfi. 



PLATE 29 

English the ball on the side toward which you want 
the hall to go. We will point out later that the use of 
English is altogether too general by beginners, and 
that it should be used, as a rule, only when a special 
effect is sought, and not for the ordinary cushion shot. 

Effect of English on the Object Ball. — Another effect 
must also be noted. The English on the cue ball tends 
to transfer itself to the object ball on contact. 

When the two balls are placed in stationary contact 



40 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

the point of contact is hardly more than a pinpoint in 
size. But when a ball at speed strikes another, both 
balls, being extremely elastic, flatten out some, and the 
point of contact is larger (Mr. C. C. Curtis, by experi- 
ment, has calculated that it is sometimes one-fourth of 
an inch), just for an instant. Golfers often notice the 
same thing after a full shot, the print of the golf ball 
on the face of the club is often as large as a twenty-five- 
cent piece. 

Now, the spinning cue ball rubs on the object ball 
and tends to make it spin; but note! in the opposite 
direction. The amount of that transferred English, i 
though slight, is quite often enough to affect the re- 
bound of the object ball from the cushion to a degree 
very i'mportant in position play. This action is shown 
in diagram A (Nos. 1, 2, and 3) of Plate No. 29.* 

Direct and Reverse English. — Right English on the 
cue ball when the latter is aimed at the right side of the 
object ball is called "natural," or "direct," English. 
But left English on the cue ball, the latter being aimed 
to hit the obj ect ball on the right side, is called " reverse 
English." 

In other words, "reverse" means English on the side 



* Mr. C. C. Curtis, of New York, has made many interesting 
experiments with billiard balls, and contends that the spin of the 
cue ball is not to any appreciable degree transferred to an object 
ball, not enough to 'Hhrow" the object ball off a true angle from 
the cushion. The writer is convinced he is right, and that what 
really happens is that the cue ball takes a curved course to the 
object ball, striking it at a point off the one aimed at. But for 
practical purposes of billiards the student will get the effects he 
wants if he takes the idea of the Diagram A, in Plate No. 29, as 
actually true. They serve to show the point in practical use, and 
are simple to understand, and hence are used. — The Editor. 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



41 



opposite to the side on which the object ball is hit by 
the cue ball, be it right or left. (See Plate 30.) 
" Reverse " on the 




Cushion, — When a 
ball with right Eng- 
lish strikes a cushion to 
the right of the direct 
line it tends to throw 
the ball on the recoil 
still further — and 
with added speed — to 
the right. This is 
often of great impor- 
tance in position play. 
Left English on the 
same shot is called 
" reverse " and tends 
to slow the ball 
after its recoil from 
the cushion and pre- 
vent it going so far to 
the right in its recoil. 
(See Plate 31.) 

Another point to remember that is often of great 
value in position play, or in getting " out of a hole," is 
that the effect of English on the opposite cushion is op- 
posite to the effect on the -first cushion. Plate No. 32 
shows this point. Remember, the ball once set spinning 
keeps on spinning in the same way. 

How Much English Will Take. — One more fact is 
well worth noting at this point. It is as to the amount 



PLATE 30 



42 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



of English that will "take." English is transferred from 
the cue ball to the object ball to any appreciable degree 




Nos. 1 and 4, Natural English , Adds speed. 
, 2 .. 3, /Reverse .. /^educes speed. 




PLATE 31 





B 

BalJ hit on top. 
Top spin tends to 
become "Draw' w tie 
re col J and to pull 
l>an toiTdrd cushion. 




Shomn^ effect 
£n$lisn on fjrsi 
second rebounds. 



PLATE 32 



only when the cue ball strikes the object ball dead in the 
center, or not far from the center. English "takes" 
on a cushion in the greatest degree when that cushion is 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 43 

hit most directly. In fact, when the angle of incidence 
is very acute the angle of reflection is very little aff'ected 
by English. (See Plate 33.) 

The ''Dead Ball" — In modem bilHards the "dead 
ball" is a term constantly recurring. The dead ball is 
a ball that " lands dead " ; that is, it moves slowly when 




PLATE 33 

it comes in contact with the carom ball, and moves very 
little after contact, and it does not drive the second ball 
away after the completion of the carom. 

To master the dead ball in all its moods and tenses is 
an absolute necessity in first-class position play. The 
dead ball is attained by hitting cue ball center and the 
first object ball full, thus giving all the life to the 
object ball and taking it away from the cue ball. 

Plate No. 34 shows where the cue tip should strike 
the cue ball to get various effects, supposing in each 
instance that the object ball is hit in the center or very 
nearly so. For if it be not hit full the cue ball will not 



44 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



be stopped dead, no matter where the tip of the cue 
struck it. 

Another quahfication must also be made. The distance 
of the first object ball from the cue ball makes a differ- 
ence. If the object ball be near the cue ball a center-hit 
cue ball will stop dead. If, however, the object ball is 
far away from the cue ball, the latter, in traveling the 
length of the table, is affected by the friction with the 
cloth and it must be hit a trifle below the center to 
overcome the cloth friction. 




PLATE 34 



The point to be accomplished is to have the cue ball 
strike the object ball just when it has neither forward 
roll from cloth friction nor backward spin from being 
hit below the center — when it is still sliding. When 
the cue ball is very near the object ball you may hit the 
cue ball center and get the dead ball result without allow- 
ing for cloth friction. 

Again, if the sliding ceases and the forward roll 
begins (on a shot the full length of the table), the shot 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 45 

will be a " follow " from the forward roll obtained from 
cloth friction alone. Experts often make use of this 
cloth friction when the cue ball is far from both object 
balls and they wish to make a soft carom shot. By 
hitting the cue ball low it "drags," yet, having been 
struck with some force, it holds a direct line and does 
not roll off to the side from irregularity of shape in 
the ball, nor from pits in an old cloth. It slows up and 
counts softly. 

A Mental Help on " Dead Ball " Shots. — If you have 
a right-angle or wide-angle carom which you wish to 
make "dead," it is frequently of mental assistance to 
imagine the carom ball is only two inches away from 
the first object ball and then make the shot as if that 
were really where the carom ball lay. Just so it aids in 
making a draw shot to imagine the cue ball is two inches 
farther away from the cue tip than it really is. Make 
the draw shot with that idea in mind and the cue tip 
"goes through" well and the draw takes effect. 

" Deadening " on the Cushion. — Sometimes it is desired 
to deaden the cue ball on the cushion. This is done by 
using reverse English. Reverse English on a ball slows 
it up after contact with the cushion. Natural English 
makes a "live" ball. It is the constant use of the live 
ball that prevents many good players from becoming 
really first class. The greatest difference between the 
mediocre and the fine billiardist lies in the use of the 
dead ball. 

No other one thing in billiards, unless it be the mastery 
of speed, the subtle appreciation of how hard a drive 
should be made and how softly, has so much to do with 



46 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

the attainment of excellence as the mastery of the dead 
ball, in the sense that the dead ball is one that lands on 
the second ball dead, or at least rapidly dying, be it 
ball-to-ball shot or cushion shot. 

Practice Plan for the Dead Ball. — So superlatively 
important is the mastery of the dead ball that I suggest 
in Plates 35 and 36 a scheme for effective practice. 
Draw a twelve-inch (or smaller) circle with chalk or 
even the moistened finger tip on the cloth. Place the 
balls (Plate 35) as for a dead draw. Try the shot 
several times until you can count and not knock the 
carom ball from the circle. 

Try the same plan for the dead follow and the dead 
"spread" (wide-angle carom). Make these shots re- 
peatedly until you are not afraid to hit the object ball 
FULL enough to take out all its life and produce the 
dead ball. At first you will not hit it full enough, in the 
fear that you will not count, but you will soon get over 
that. 

In Plate 36, scheme No. 1, is shown a plan for trying 
the dead "spread." Leave the carom ball at A. Move 
the object ball from one position to another, farther and 
farther from A. In this way you will gradually learn 
to make the dead spread at wider and wider distances 
with certainty. Scheme No. 2 is a suggestion for plac- 
ing the balls for a dead drive, moving carom ball to 
positions A, B, and C, and object ball from a', b', c', d', 
to the various lengths of shot. 

The object for which you practice in this plan is to 
gather the balls " under the hand." So do not be satis- 
fied with merely the count. Be satisfied only when you 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



47 




PLATE 85 



48 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



^'^ 

^c^^ 






I? 
<5i 



T'ractlce en Dead Ball ''6pread\^ 
Place object pall jaccessJyely 
St A.B, C,andD 



No.l 



ABC 

/"s ^"^ /">, 

« » I ' I 1 



n 




PLATE 36 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 49 

land dead and make the drive at just speed enough to 
gather all three balls in a very smaU space. This is the 
sort of practice that really counts. 

The Masse Stroke. — The masse (from French, mas- 
ser, to knead or rub), first developed by French experts, 
is a shot indispensable in modern billiards, not only as a 
shot with which to get out of a " hole," but with which 
often to play position to the best advantage. 

To the neophyte it is most dazzling and incompre- 
hensible. Yet the principles governing it are easily 
understood. But no other shot needs so much practice 
to get the exact "feel." Some assistance can be gained 
toward its mastery from the printed page, but practice, 
especially under a teacher, is almost absolutely necessary. 

Do you remember when, as a boy, taking a hoop by the 
top, throwing it forward, but giving it a backward spin 
with a flip of the wrist .f^ The hoop started forward, 
then the back spin caught the sidewalk and the hoop 
came rolling back toward you with a speed depending 
upon the amount of the back spin. That illustrates the 
principle of the masse shot. The ball acts just as the 
hoop acted. The back spin is put on with the cue, held 
upright, and striking the side of the ball in a down- 
ward stroke. 

Important! The cue must not be stopped just as the 
ball is hit. The tip must "go through" nearly to the 
cloth. 

Doubly important! Most beginners try to hit too 
near the edge. Don't strike near the edge of the cue 
ball, but nearer the center as you look down upon the 
ball. This avoids miscues. The "feel" of the shot is 



50 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

as though you were trying to drive the ball down 
through the table bed. 

The Masse Bridge. — The bridge (position of the 
hand at the cue tip) for the ordinary masse stroke is 
shown in Plate 37-B. Note the palm of the bridge hand 
turned well forward. 

Position A, in the same plate, shows the bridge for 
a free-hand masse, which is used when great power or 
a drive around the table is desired. It is not used for 
exact or close work if the other bridge can be made with- 
out disturbing the balls. 

Plates 38 and 39 show styles of bridge used some- 
times to get a firm rest when the balls are in an awkward 
position. These photographs are of Maurice Daly. He 
says these bridges were first used by Frank Ives. 

The Masse Grip. — The cue may be gripped in .either 
of two ways. They are shown in Plates 40 and 41. In 
No. 40 ( A ) the hand is turned downward ; in 40 ( B ) 
it is turned upward. 

. For a masse grip one finger and thumb or two fingers 
and thumb may be used. The latter gives a firmer hold. 
It is well to hold the cue very firmly, but a flexible wrist 
motion, free from jerk, so that the cue tip may go well 
" through " the ball, is essential. When in position it is 
well to feel that the wrist is arched a bit ; that makes the ; 
" follow-through " easier. 

Plate 41 ( A and B ) shows the two grips. The ball 
is hit with the cue nearly perpendicular, the degree of 
uprightness depending upon the amount of back spin 
desired, and how soon you desire it to "catch," and 
whether you desire a short, quick curve or a longer one. 



A. POSITION 

FOia }=R.EE 

HAND 

POWHRFUL 

MASSE' 

5TBOKE. 




B. THE 

OR-DINABY 
MASSE-' 
BEIDGE- . 



PLATE 3 7 




PLATE 3 8 
rosition for masse with balls in difficult position to reach 




PLATE 3 9 
Another masse position for force masse, with balls difficult to reach 



A. MR. HARRIS SHOWING CUE HAND ^^ 
TUf^NED DOWAJWAi:^D IN MAS5E' SHOT, ^<^ 




HAND TURNED 
UPWAfSD. 



PLATE 4 




A. THE TWO FINGER 
GI3IP FOB MASSE' 
STROKE. 




B. THE ONE FINGEK 
GKIP F012, 
MASSt' STBOKE. 



PLATE 4 1 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



51 



The diagram by Benjamin F. Garno, in ^'Modern Bil- 
liards^^ (Plate 42), is here reproduced by permission. 



Dis^am showing effect on 
cue-Mfl, of different an^ej 
of cue elevation. 

No. I'Close masse. 78V 
No. 2- Half masse. 67 \° 
No. 3 -Lon^, slow curve. 45 * 
No. 4- Jump shot. 22 i ° 



Copynsht l>y BS.C.Co. 




PLATE 42 

Getting Aim for a Masse Shot. — Now, an important 
point on all close masse shots is to hit the first ball easily, 
land " dead" on the carom ball, and not scatter the balls. 
Hence, in most posi- 
tions it is important 
to take your aim ex- 
actly as for a thin 
shot. (Plate 43.) The 
cue ball will curve and 
push ball No. 1 out 
of the way. 

For close masses 
that will land dead 
(the cue ball's for- 
ward impelling force 
being quickly neu- 




Z/ne cf aim for close Masse 
indicated J>y the arrow. 



PLATE 43 



52 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

tralized by the back spin) the first thing to do is to 
get your line of aim. Then imagine the cue ball quar- 
tered as shown in Plate No. 43. Hit the southwest 
(lower left) quarter, with the cue well upright. Mr. 
Garno says 78f degrees, or nearly that. Hit a good, 
firm stroke, and try to feel the cue tip cling to the cue 
ball, and push the side of the ball downward, or " knead " 
it down. The shot is not a sharp hammer tap, but a 
clinging shot. Strike nearer the middle of the ball than 
the edge and feel as though you were pushing the cue 
ball into the table bed. 

The directions here given refer to Plate 43, with a 
short masse around the right of the two object balls. 
If the cue ball is to pass around to the left, you imagine 
the cue ball divided into quarters and hit the lower right 
(southeast) quarter. 

Learn this shot well. It will serve as a basis in calcu- 
lating all other masse shots. Knowing this as the normal 
masse, you think of others as departures from this and 
make calculations accordingly and execution more easy. 

Thus, if the carom ball be further away from the ob- i 
ject ball the masse effect (curvature of its course) should 
not take so quickly, and the cue need not be held so 
upright, or the cue ball need not be hit so much to the 
rear, but more to one side. 

A Follow Masse. — Sometimes a follow shot may be 
effected by the masse stroke, as shown in Plate No. 44, 
diagram A. Or a draw shot may be made as shown in 
diagram B of the same plate. 

The Draw Masse. — In making draw shots by masse I 
along the cushion, hit the cue ball a wee bit on the side 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



53 




PLATE 44 



54 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

toward the cushion and the cue ball, in coming back, 
will " hug the rail." Plate No. 44 shows several varie- 
ties of the masse, but they are all applications of the 
same basic principle. The arrows show the line of orig- 
inal aim, the dots on the cue ball show where it should 
be struck by the cue tip. 

Cushion Caroms. — In playing position billiards the 
tyro is tempted to use English on almost every shot. He 
must learn early never to use English unless there is a 
SPECIAL REASON f or it. In cushion shots, more especially 
in one-cushion shots, avoid English if you can, thus get- 
ting the "land" much more nearly dead, as well as 
increasing your accuracy of execution. 

Hardly another shot on the table except the draw is 
so productive of good positions as the one-cushion shot. 
If the angle is natural it is true about nine times out of 
ten that the shot should be played without English. The 
cue ball lands lightly and does not kick the carom ball 
away. 

End of Part 1. 



PART II 

By Maurice Daly 



FIRST PRINCIPLES OF POSITION PLAY 
AT BILLIARDS 

By Maurice Daly 

1 — DonH drive until you have to. 

2 — Other things equal, the short drive is better 

than the long drive, 

3 — Avoid a long drive of both balls, 

Jf. — Avoid a long drive of the second object ball. 

5 — Keep both balls in the ^^ short table.*' 

6 — A shot which leaves the cue ball far from 

both object balls is generally a bad shot. 

7 — Along the rails choose that shot which will 

leave the cue ball " outside " (^nearer center 
table) of the object balls, 

8 — Keep the balls ^^ ahead"' of you, 

9 — Avoid leaving cue ball frozen to the cushion. 
10 — On short drives, follows, and caroms, look out 

for " line-ups " and " tie-ups " that come from 
landing on the second ball too softly. 

11 — A ^^ dead'' draw, follow, or masse, is gen- 
erally better than a " live " one. 

12 — On open-table shots, if nothing better offers, 
try to leave at least one ball near a cushion, 
and, if possible, near a corner. 



CHAPTER IV 

SOME GENEEAL CONSIDERATIONS ON POSITION PLAY 

ABSOLUTE mastery of the game of billiards is 
unattainable. Mastery would mean the ability to 
start from any given "leave" and play as long as one 
wished without missing. And that would take all the 
sport out of billiards. 

Real excellence at the game, however, is attainable by 
the maj ority of players. It is an old saying that " Any- 
one who can learn to write can learn to draw." It is only 
a matter of study and practice to be able to guide the pen 
along certain lines rather than along others. And so 
with billiards. Anyone who can play billiards at all can 
play better. 

Given a certain position, any player can learn that 
one way of making the shot is likely to prove better than 
another way of making it. Having learned that " posi- 
tion shot," he can learn another one, and so on. 

Value of System in Practice. — I cannot too strenu- 
ously urge the value of system in practice. " There 's a 
big difference in ginger," as the saying goes. Aimless 
knocking about of the balls will not increase your aver- 
ages. When you learn a valuable shot, practice it 
repeatedly until it is not only mastered, but you recog- 
nize it instantly in whatever part of the table it bobs up. 
It becomes an old friend, and you become confident of 

57 



58 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

results as soon as you see it. And confidence is of the 
utmost importance in billiards. 

Diagrams can indicate general principles only, and 
not always perfectly at that; for let one alter the posi- 
tion of the balls the veriest trifle, in many cases, and the 
whole strategic character of the position is changed. 

In no other game does "such a little difference make 
such a big difference." It is a game of "tremendous 
trifles." So, after reading the points here made, set 
the balls on the table and try the shots over and over, 
not only in the places indicated, but with variations 
therefrom. 

How Frank Ives Practiced, — The late Frank C. Ives, 
now generally credited — and rightly, I think — with 
being the finest exponent of high-class competition bil- 
liards in the history of the game, would practice for 
hours on one thing ; for instance, on working " through " 
the balls. I have known him to put in a week on two or 
three keynote shots with their variations. 

Having learned a given position, subsequent play will 
show that the principle ruling it will serve to direct the 
player in any other similar position. A thorough under- 
standing of even a few conventional position plays will 
really be an understanding of a great many which grow 
out of it. 

Fundamental Errors Not Many, — ^A playing experi- 
ence of some forty years has led me to believe that the 
fundamental errors of the average billiard player are 
not many. But they are important. One fundamental 
mistake causes errors in a great many places. 

Some of the most fundamental principles for the 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 59 

young billiard player we take up here. The accom- 
panying diagrams are illustrations of these principles in 
one place on the table, and they are made from actual 
play. Most of them arise in many other places. Pos- 
sible diagrams are innumerable, but with general prin- 
ciples well in mind you soon apply them instinctively 
in countless places. And you will learn to avoid mak- 
ing the shot by the wrong plan, even though the right 
one be a little more difficult. 

It is even more important that you do not delude 
yourself, even though a good position results from a 
badly chosen shot, that it was a good shot. For it is not 
single instances that tell the story ; it is the average of all 
attempts in like situations. Such self-delusion does more 
than any other one thing I know to prevent improvement 
in many players. 

There is only a slight diflPerence between good players 
and the best players, but it is that little distinguishing 
difference that is so difficult of mastery and so productive 
of results. 

What Is a Good Position Shot? — That position shot 
is most perfect which gives the widest option of play on 
the following shot, and is easiest to execute perfectly 
" for the count." Its points of desirability are : 

1 — It should give the choice of the most cushions. 

2 — Those cushions should be near. 

3 — The cue ball should be near (but not too near) 
the object balls, which should also be close together. The 
balls, as the phrase goes, are " under your hand." 

These points of desirability are all attained only in the 
" short table ; " that is, in the part of the table between 



60 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

the spots and the end rails. In mid-table, no matter 
how weU the balls be placed for the immediate count, the 
player is always in danger, if the balls act the least bit 
badly, of losing control at once. He may make the 
count, but, being at mid-table, has little choice of shot, 
must make long drives, and generally is in danger. The 
same leave near the end rail would have no dangers to 
speak of. The player has at least 100 per cent the best 
of it in the short table. 

It is related that an enthusiastic billiard tyro, upon 
seeing Jacob Schaef er, " The Wizard," make a long run 
of easy caroms, exclaimed, "Anybody can make those 
shots." To some extent this illustrates the difference 
between good and bad billiards. It may cause the blood 
to thrill at times to observe the pyrotechnical display, the 
long masse, the unnaturally angled cushion shot, the 
spectacular draw, but such things persisted in as a sys- 
tem of play, never win championships. 

As a matter of fact, once the balls are " out of con- 
trol " it is merely a matter of execution and luck to make 
the single shot; and nearly any good amateur has as 
good a chance (for the count) as the best professional. 
Good billiards lies in avoiding the necessity/ of making 
hard shots. That's why great players sacrifice good 
clusters in mid-table to get at once back to the ends. 
Fancy shots are a separate department of the game. 



CHAPTER V 

PRINCIPLE No. 1.— DON'T DRIVE (OR SHOOT HAED) TILL 
YOU HAVE TO 

T T E IS the best performer who makes the most points, 
-*■ -*• moving the balls the least. Here, in Plate 45 (see 
both A and B) is shown how young players throw away 
more chances for runs than in any other situation I now 
think of. It is when the two object balls are very near 
together, the cue ball near them, and an easy carom for 
the first shot. The FIRST SHOT is the IMPORTANT 
thing. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred the tyro hits 
the cue ball too hard. It is not enough to hit the object 
balls so softly that they move only three or four inches. 
They must hardly move at all, no more than an inch or 
so, less if possible. 

In this plate (No. 45) is a special diagram (C) show- 
ing how, given proper execution, one may softly pass 
the cue ball across the face of both object balls, the 
object balls meantime traveling along parallel lines in 
the path indicated by the dotted outline balls. The cue 
ball on each shot just passes the center of the second 
ball, leaving the same shot on the way back. The object 
balls are hardly moved. I have made 84 counts in a 
game at this " edge " or " pass " nurse, and where can 
you get any cheaper counts? Ives has made more than 
a hundred at it in the open table, and any fairly good 

61 



62 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 45 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 63 

amateur, by practice can make a good cluster before 
losing the position. 

This is really a sort of advanced position play, but it 
develops so easily and naturally out of the position 
shown in the plate that I draw attention to it here. It is 
a nurse that will happen oftener for beginners than any 
other, and it is the basis of nursing in nearly all places. 
Knowing this one shot and its derivatives will make 
a "two-man" (average) out of almost any "one 
man." 

The ''Split'' and ''Going Through:'— The "split" 
shot and other " passing-through " shots of all kinds are 
carefully practiced by the best players. In general the 
point to be attained is this: when the two object balls are 
being forced toward mid-table, " go through " with the 
cue ball and flock the object balls back toward the corners 
or balk-lines. 

The necessity of going through arises when with the 
two object balls near together and facing mid-table the 
cue ball is " between " them and cannot be gotten off to 
the right or left to work the " edge " nurse across the 
face of the balls. The FIRST SHOT is THE KEY 
to the situation. On that all the damage is done if it 
be made too hard. If it is made just right, then two or 
three more soft ones will put the cue ball "through" 
and various easy position possibilities result. 

Diagram A of Plate No. 46 shows the idea. Diagrams 
B and C are variations. In general, in this play, stay 
near the second ball at the end of each stroke. The cue 
ball hits one ball less than the other, so that motion is 
imparted to one only. Some special details on this play 



64 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 46 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



65 



are taken up in the chapters on "advanced position 
play." 

In Plate 47 is shown one of the most deceptive posi- 
tions to beginners and one of very frequent occurrence. 
The temptation is to try to drive either the first object 
ball twice across, following the carom ball (second object 
ball) which is likely to leave a line-up; or to drive the 




■punoj 
[/f/os- pup J 



PLATE 47 



carom ball, which shot (even though the two object balls 
are left together — and even that is doubtful) will cer- 
tainly leave the cue ball far away from them. 

^^ Dropping On.'' — Play softly, just "dropping on" 
the carom ball, and the chances are much in favor of your 
getting an easy draw or an easy "round the table" 
position gather for your next. If you play hard there 
are a dozen ways for the shot to go wrong. 

This plate illustrates three principles: "Don't drive 
until you have to," " Don't leave cue ball far from both 



66 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

object balls," and "Avoid a long drive of the second 
object ball." 

As a matter of fact, most good position shots are in 
accord with more than one of the general principles we 
have set forth. We have in mind (all in the same shot) 
playing toward the "short table," keeping both balls 
" ahead," playing the short drive rather than the long, or 
not driving until we have to and keeping near at least 
one of the object balls. Position shots in which only one 
principle is concerned are comparatively rare. 

Take Another 'Look! — In general, whenever tempted 
to drive, take another look. Then take a third look and 
see if some other shot will not answer. 

In Plate 48 the balls are shown in position where the 
long drive (to the side rail, Diagram A) is the immedi- 
ate temptation. 

Think again! Try the shot shown in Diagram A, a 
soft carom off the white, leaving it in position for an 
easy draw on the next. Now you are one point extra 
to the good before driving. 

Block Shots. — ^And just here is the place to call atten- 
tion to the general principle of "blocking." (See Dia- 
gram B in Plate 48. ) In playing from white to red land 
"dead" and leave the two balls side hy side, close to- 
gether, so that when the driven ball comes back from 
the cushion it is blocked by the width of two balls, a total 
of 4f inches of ivory instead of 2f inches. If you do 
not land dead on the second ball, but "kick it away," 
you leave a gap between them through which half of the 
time the returning driven ball will escape. 

In this shot (and its variations are numerous in close 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



67 



Don*i Drive Yet- make 
soft shot first to ^et Jeave 
sIiow/2 jhr dotted oat-Iine. 

Twct shot will he a draw 
jhown in Dia, D. 



Correct way to make '*drawl 
31ock it. 



PLATE 48 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



69 



play near the end rail) one must pay strict attention to 
the English on the cue ball. That imparted to the driven 
object ball affects the course of the latter on its return 






Z^nd thin on. Z"^ Ball, hardly 
mcvin$ it, Jeatin^ a "draw" 
or a "sh'p-throu^"(seel)i^.B) 
for next shot 




PLATE 49 



from the cushion. This driven ball may be "thrown" 
one side or the other as much as three inches. 

Modern Line Play a/nd Old. — The speed of the shot 
should be carefully calculated, and the driven ball should, 
if perfectly played, just barely get back to the two 
others without kicking them away. Better not quite 
get back than to come back too swiftly. This will ap- 
pear in more detail in "advanced position play" in 
considering the driven ball in playing the balk-line nurse 
in modem line play and its differences from the older 
methods. 

In Plate 49 is still another example of "don't shoot 
hard or drive until you have to." In general, the point 
of the thing is to see why you do not have to, and what 



70 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



other way there is. With the ball as shown in Diagram 
A, if you shoot very softly, hitting the second ball thin 
on the far side, scarcely disturbing it, you get either an- 
other " slip through " or an easy, perfect draw shot 
(remember to "block" it) for position. The dotted 
outline balls show the new leave. In general, when the 
two object balls are close together make as many soft 

points as you can he- 
fore driving, or going 
through. 

Diagram B shows 
one resulting position 
of the soft shot; they 
may vary some but sel- 
dom are bad. 

The Last Few 
Inche s. — Plate 50 
shows a position where 
the temptation is to 
drive at once, and, in- 
deed, the drive, if well 
made, will result in a 
good leave. 

But — and it is a 
very big "but" — you 

NEVER CAN TELL 
ABOUT THE LAST SIX 
INCHES OF A LONG 

kinds are possible with 




DRIVE. 



PLATE 50 

Bad "breaks" of 



all 



the most skillful driver in the world. They are bound j 
to occur, according to the law of averages. So avoid 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 71 

LONG DRIVES. Ill the case in question, get the easy 
count first (you are at least one count to the good), 
and you will have a short drive, or more easy caroms 
left, if you play as shown in the diagram. 



CHAPTER VI 



PRINCIPLE No. 2 .— OTHEE THINGS EQUAL, THE SHOET 
DRIVE IS BETTER THAN THE LONG DRIVE 

ONE diagram will do for illustrating this point, which 
is, of course, obvious. Still I constantly see sup- 
posedly good players striving to get the balls in position 

to make a long drive 
for a gather instead of 
getting them in a posi- 
tion to make a short 
drive for the same ob- 
ject. 

Note especially Plate 
51. The draw is equally 
easy from either ball. 
But in the one case the 
object ball must travel 
nearly twenty feet, in 
the other only half of 
that distance. Take 
the short drive in pref- 
erence to the long 
drive. It is easier to 
control the resulting 
leave. No matter how 
attractive a long drive 
PLATE 51 may appear, you can" 

not tell about its last few inches. And in position play 
they are the inches that count most, 

72 




CHAPTER VII 



PRINCIPLE No. 3— AVOID A LONG DEIVE OF BOTH 
BALLS 

^ I ^HE temptation to drive both balls arises most fre- 






quently when it seems that by so doing both object 



balls can be gathered near a corner. The danger points 

of such a shot are: 

First, the difficulty of 

landing exactly right 

on the second ball, a 

perfect "land" being 

very doubtful at a 

range of more than a 

foot ; secondly, the 

fact that even though 

you make the count as 

you planned you leave 

the cue ball far from 

both object balls, and, 

thirdly, there is the 

danger of a "tie-up" 

through lining the 

balls or by freezing 

to the cushion. 

In a recent cham- 
pionship match one of 
our foremost players 




PLATE 52 



73 



74 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



several times came to a halt in his run through difficulties 
resulting (a couple of shots before) from a drive of both 
balls to get them near a comer. In another championship 

tournament the loss of 
the game, and prob- 
ably the championship, 
was directly traceable 
to this mistaken tactic. 
In one game this play- 
er made five such at- 
tempts, and four of 
them failed to produce 
a satisfactory result. 
One of them left him 
badly "tied up," and 
his resulting miss left 
his opponent a fine 
leave from which a 
long run resulted. 

THE PERCENT- 
AGE IS AGAINST 
YOU WHENEVER 
YOU TRY A LONG 
PLATE 53 DRIVE OF BOTH 

BALLS, with this solitary exception, when after such a 
drive you can leave the cue ball near, or fairly near, the 
other two. 

In Plate No. 52, Diagram A, is shown a frequent 
position and the right way to play it. The temptation 
for the beginner is to drive both balls to the far right- 
hand comer. But if he does this he leaves the cue 




DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



15 



ball far from both object balls and there is the chance 
of a line-up. There is the chance of not getting them 
both in the short table. There is the chance of hitting 
the first ball too softly, or too hard, or too thin. In 
driving one ball there is not half the chance to go 
wrong. Diagram A shows the right way to make the 
shot. Diagram B the wrong way to make it. 

There are, of course, 
some exceptions, no 
generalization being 
wholly true. 

When Both Balls 
May Be Driven, — In 
addition to the excep- 
tion noted, when the 
cue ball can be made to 
stop near the others, is 
this, that short drives 
of both balls may be 
safely made. A short 
drive means one of a 
foot or so, seldom 
more. Or such a shot 
can be made as a last 
resort in a bad place; 
for instance, when the 
balls must be gotten 
out of balk. 




PLATE 54 



Plate 53 shows an example where both balls may be 
driven, because the cue ball may be made to stop near 
the other two. 



76 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



Sometimes the beginner " drives both balls " and loses 
a good position through not suspecting he is driving 
the second ball, because the shot is a draw, and he makes 

a " live " draw, landing 
at speed instead of 
"dead" on the second 
ball. Plate 54 shows 
such a happening. 
Diagram A shows the 
wrong way, Diagram 
B the right way of 
making the shot. 

This again suggests 
an exception. There are 
times (though very, 
very rare) when the 
fast draw is the better 
shot. Plate 55 shows 
such a case. But in 
general all these draw 
shots, and especially 
where the drive of the 
first object ball is long, 
PLATE 55 -find where that is go- 

ing to stop, and try to land the carom ball, and, if pos- 
sible, the cue ball, too, near the same point. 

Importance of Correct Speed. — There is nothing in 
billiards, not even the choice of shots, that is of more 
importance than getting the exact amount of force, so 
the balls may land "under the hand." They must, if 
possible, be in a little cluster, where they are absolutely 




I 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 77 

under control, not merely " somewhere near " each other. 
Four or five inches of separation is big. The expert 
wants them an inch apart if possible. No matter how 
good a Selection of shot be made, if it is much overdone 
or underdone it is not much better than making the 
wrong shot. 

It is in this wonderful control of force that the princi- 
pal superiority of Willie Hoppe's game exists. His 
line nursing, or nursing of any other description, rarely 
runs into large figures. But on his gather shots he puts 
them " under his hand " ; that is, all huddled closely 
together. 



CHAPTER VIII 

PRINCIPLE No. 4— AVOID A LONG DRIVE OF THE SEC- 
OND OBJECT BALL 

TJLATE No. 56 depicts a characteristic leave where 
■*- the temptation comes to one to drive the second 
object ball. Diagram A shows how to try it. Shoot 
softly, just " dropping on " the second ball, leaving the 
first object ball near the cushion. Then you get either 
an easy draw for position or an easy cushion shot for a 
gather in the comer, the second ball being a " big ball." 

What Is a ''Big BalVf — A "big ball" means an 
object ball lying near a cushion or cushions in such posi- 
tion that the cue ball approaching it for a carom may 
hit it either directly or on the rebound from one of the 
cushions. For instance, on a round-the-table shot, if 
the second ball lies down in the corner about three inches 
from both sides of the "jaw," the ball is nearly a "foot 
big." That is, the cue ball may enter the comer any- 
where within the range of a foot, and the count will be 
made, because it cannot escape counting either directly 
or on the rebound. 

Lansing Perkins holds that any ball, no matter where 
it lies is 7 inches "big." Place the three balls frozen, 
side by side in a line, and it is 7J inches from the outside 
to the outside of the two balls on the end. I figure it 
differently, however. I measure from the center to cen- 

78 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



79 



ter of the two outside balls; that is, from the path or 
line on which they roll. This gives twice the width of 
one ball, or 4f inches. An approaching cue ball 
coming anywhere within that 4 f -inch path is bound to 
hit the object ball. So it may lend you confidence to 
know when attempting a difficult shot that the ball is 
really 4f inches wide instead of 2§ inches, its own diam- 
eter. But this is wandering from our diagram (56). 




PLATE 56 



Diagram B shows the wrong way and one of the possible 
bad results. The other possible bad results are numer- 
ous. Generally the result from playing the shot correctly 
(A) is a draw. 

Value of the Draw Shot, — And here Is a general 
rule — 

AN EASY DRAW IN "BALL-TO-BALL" BIL- 
LIARDS IS ONE OF THE BEST LEAVES POSSI- 
BLE TO GET. 

The draw, in fact, Is the keynote shot of ball-to-ball 



80 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

billiards. Frank Ives held that the secret of balk-line 
billiards lay in the draw and masse. " In case of doubt, 
draw," he said. And while that may be too broad for 
absolute application, it is nevertheless indicative of the 
importance and value of the stroke, and oftener than 
not the correct procedure. 

In golf they say "the man who can putt can beat 
anybody." In billiards the man who can draw and 
masse well is always dangerous. If in addition to that 
he has good control of one-cushion shots, always very 
valuable in position play possibilities, he is a dangerous 
opponent. 

Getting the Thin Shot. — Keep in mind always the 
plan of leaving the balls for a draw, or for a thin shot, 
and then a draw. The "thin shot," too, is a valuable 
one and will be taken up in detail later on. But this j 
may be said here: The "thin shot" leave is also likely I 
to leave the option of a half follow. Play half follow 
when going toward the corners or to the short table from 
a mid-table position. When already in the short table, 
and looking toward the side rails, the thin shot and then { 
a draw is more often the better plan. 



CHAPTER IX 



PRINCIPLE No. 5. 



-KEEP THE BALLS IN THE 
SHOET TABLE '' 



IN Plate 57 is shown the table, with lines drawn across 
it intersecting the two spots. Between these lines 
and the end rails is the territory known as "the short 
table." The rest of the field is "mid-table" or "center 
table." 

Plate 58 illustrates a frequent and a characteristic 
situation where a draw shot from either object ball is a 




PLATE 57 



" gather " shot. But the shot should be made as indicated 
to gather the balls in the "short table," rather than to 
draw from the other ball, even though in this case it is 

81 



82 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 58 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



83 



a long drive in preference to a short drive. The most 
important thing is to keep the balls toward the end 
rails where, in case the balls act badly, more opportu- 
nities for recovery exist. In makinsj such shots as 
this, make every effort to so regulate the speed of the 
shot that the balls may gather "under your hand." 

Plate 59 illustrates again the same principle. A draw 
from either ball will be a " gather," but one gathers in 




PLATE 59 



the short table, the other in mid-table. Keeping the 
balls towards the end rails overrules almost everything 
else, except that attempting too difficult a shot is not 
advisable. Making the count is, of course, the first 
rule in competitions. With a fair chance for a good 
result always choose the sure shot over the doubtful 
one. 

Plate 60 is to the same point, but the first shot is 
preparatory, while the " gather " is on the second shot. 



84 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



In this plate, Diagram A looks toward a gather in the 
short table, B toward a gather in mid-table. There is 
a great variety of such situations. 




PLATE 60 



Plate 61 shows one of the most frequent positions in 
which the beginner is likely to go astray. In his haste 




PLATE 61 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



85 



to make the count he blazes away for a simple ball-to-ball 
carom, hitting the first object ball thin, makes the count, 
but "loses" the balls. Diagram A shows the way the 
shots should have been made : a half follow shot, so as to 
carry both balls along together, keeping them " ahead " 
of you, and even putting them into the short table. Dia- 
gram B shows the way not to do it. 




PLATE 62 



Plate 6S, Diagram A, shows a " cushion-first " shot, 
resulting in a gather in the short table. By playing on 
the ball first, as shown in Diagram B, there is no 
gather at all, and the best one can hope for is that they 
get together somewhere in " the open sea " of mid-table. 

Shifting of English. — Most beginners are quick to 
learn the effect of Enghsh on the right or left sides of 
the cue ball. They are slower to appreciate even in 
simple shots the important difference (in effect on the 
cue ball's course after striking a cushion) between " top " 



86 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 63 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



87 



and "bottom" (draw or foUow) English. Bear in mind 
that when a ball is hit low with the cue it comes back 
from the cushion with that underspin still effective, 
and on its new course (from an opposite cushion) the 
underspin is no longer acting as draw but as follow. 
When a ball hit high comes off the opposite cushion the 
"top" is still effective, but on the ball's new course off 
the opposite cushion the original "top" is acting as 
"draw." It will tend to curve the ball in toward the 
cushion again. 

A mastery of these two points is indispensable in 
cushion play. It is often of the greatest value in three- 
cushion caroms. So right here let us consider plates 
( 63 and 64 ) illustrating this important point. 

Plate 64 shows the opposite effect from that shown in 
Diagram B of Plate 63. The shot looks impossible to 
beginners. But let one strike the 
first ball thin, with plenty of 
"draw," and the cue ball will 
"swell out," as we term it; i. e., 
take a curved course to the 
comer. 

Hitting high on the same shot 
would send the cue baU much far- 
ther to the right, curving toward 
the end rail, as shown by the 
shorter dotted line. 

Plate 65 shows three positions in which the second 
object ball (white) alone is changed. In A it is behind 
the first object ball. In B it is out from the cushion at 
right angles. In C it is forward. 




PLATE 64 
Cue ball hit as for a draw 



88 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



In A you hit the cue ball low, in B 3^ou hit it center 
of ball, in C you hit it high. This illustrates forcibly the 
difference in effect between " top " and " bottom " Eng- 




PLATE 65 



lish, which is just as great and just as important as the 
difference between right and left English. 




PLATE 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 89 

On the opening shot one should try to gather the 
balls in the short table. Plate No. 66 shows two ways 
of making the shot. The solid lines show the course of 
cue and object balls when the object ball is hit fairly 
full, resulting in a gather in the short table. The dotted 
lines show the course of cue and object balls when the 
object ball is hit thin, resulting in no gather at all. 



CHAPTER X 

PRINCIPLE No. 6.— A SHOT WHICH LEAVES THE CUE 
BALL FAR FEOM BOTH OBJECT BALLS IS GEN- 
ERALLY A BAD SHOT 

TT IS astonishing how numerous the positions are 
"■- where this principle is to be borne in mind. In a 
majority of cases the execution secret is in hitting the 
first ball fuller so as to deaden the cue ball and land 
softly on the carom ball. Sometimes, however, it is sim- 
ply a case of "shoot softly!" 

A frequent leave that results in a "scatter" and the 
close of the run where it might result in a gather and 
continuation of play with the balls in control is shown in 
Plate 67, Diagrams A and B showing the wrong and 
right ways, respectively, of playing the shot. 

Another frequent leave, where the " dead " cue ball is 
indicated, is shown in Plate 68. Diagram B shows the 
way a lively cue ball will destroy what otherwise would 
have been a good position shot. The player has hit the 
first object ball too thin, thus failing to deaden the cue 
ball, which, returning from the cushion at speed, " kicks " 
the carom ball away from a good position. 

Diagram A shows a better way to make this shot, as it 
deadens the cue ball, drives the first object ball around 
the table and leaves the balls in the "short table," and 
frequently so clustered that a simple shot or two will 
place the balls in perfect position for nursing along the 

90 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



91 




PLATE 67 



92 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 68 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



93 



rail into the comers, or, in balk-line billiards, along the 
line. 

It is the judicious selection of such opportunities, not 
the execution of re- 
markable shots, that 
determines whether you 
will make one or two 
points, or a run of 
some proportions. 

Deadening on the 
Cushion. — Frequently 
it is necessary to dead- 
en the cue ball on the 
cushion, instead of on 
the object ball. Plate 
69 shows three exam- 
ples of this. Diagram 
A may need a little ex- 
planation. To get the 
red ball around the cor- 
ner and out to join the 
other two, instead of 
hitting it thin, having 
it return along the end 
rail, you hit it full. Then the cue ball "follows" it 
some. But the right English brings the cue ball back 
again, deadened to the carom ball, avoiding knocking 
it away to some undesirable position. 

In Diagram B the cue ball is deadened on the side 
rail, as it is also in Diagram C. If these shots were 
played with natural English, the resulting lively ball 




PLATE 69 



94 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



would kick the carom ball away and "control" would 
go glimmering. 

Plate 70 shows another kind of a leave where never- 
theless the idea is to keep the cue ball near the carom 
ball on completion of the shot. Diagram A shows the 
path of the shot pointed by " The Tempter." It is the 
most natural thing in the world to hit the object ball 
well on the right, with "right draw" English. The 




PLATE 70 

better way (a favorite shot of Willie Hoppe) is "the 
dead ball," with left English, the cue ball just passing 
the carom ball and staying near it. The result is a 
position from which an easy gather can almost always be 
made. This is a typical example, too, of staying near 
at least one obj ect ball. If you cannot " hold " one of 
them, hold the other. 

In Plate 71 we see a frequent draw shot with no 
quickly apparent position play. By staying near the 
carom ball the object ball may be made to stop anywhere 
within the curved line on the diagram and a gather shot 

61 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



95 



be generally possible, either by draw, " spread draw," or 
cushion shot. 




PLATE 71 



Plate 72 depicts a characteristic position, which has 
many slight variations, with the same principle applying 
throughout. By playing the natural angle and no Eng- 
lish you land " dead " and gather the balls. The Eng- 




PLATE 72 



96 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



lish "live" ball may be more certain to count, but it is 
almost certain to spoil the gather. This applies to three- 
quarters of the cross table one-cushion shots. 




Deadening Cue-I>aII on cushion 
Ify usj'n^ J^everse fn^Ii'sh 



PLATE 73 



Plate 73 shows one modification of this leave in which 
the end rail may be taken by the cue ball first. The 
cue ball, on taking the second cushion, is held back to 





JPot^ed /we indicates 
the natural an^Ie. 



ffii /fed thin, but with "swell" 
Ze/t £nj/isA and Draw. 



^. 



PLATE 74 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



97 




98 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



the corner by the left Enghsh. This enables you to hit 
the object ball thin enough to get it back for a gather. 
The shot occurs frequently, and is very useful in its 
numerous variations. 

Another variation of it is shown in Plate 74. Here 
the object ball is hit thin enough to send it up the table 
and back. The cue ball is hit on the "lower left-hand 
comer." It " swells," as shown by the curved line. The 
English is just sufficient to bring it slowly back to the 
carom ball for a soft count. 

By hitting the object ball thin enough to get the 
drive on the proper line the cue ball will necessarily land 
on the side rail well above the point of a natural angle. 
The draw and English bring it back, but it has been 
" deadened on the cushion." 

Plate 75 gives another illustration of deadening on 
the cushion. The right English does it. The leave is 
so common, and beginners so seldom play it correctly, 
that the diagram ought to be useful. 




PLATE 76 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 99 

One more example of this deadening on the cushion. 
Plate 76 shows it. Nine times out of ten the beginner 
goes for the follow shot. He probably counts, but the 
balls are gone. Now, by playing the cue ball with draw 
and left English over to the end rail he can count and 
land dead, at the same time driving the object ball around 
for position. 



CHAPTER XI 



PRINCIPLE No. 7.— ALONG THE KAIL, CHOOSE THAT 
SHOT WHICH WILL LEAVE THE CUE BALL *' OUT- 
SIDE ** (NEAEEB MID-TABLE) OF THE OBJECT 
BALLS 

AMONG players one hears a great deal about "sys- 
tem." If that word, as used, means anything exact 
and definite, which I sometimes doubt, it refers as much 

as anything to the 
point of keeping the 
two ob j ect balls 
" ahead " of the cue 
ball; that is, "pointed" 
toward the end rail or 
nearest cushion, rather 
than toward mid-table, 
the " open sea 
times one shot 
the desired result. 
Sometimes the first, or 
even the second and 
third shots, are prepar- 
atory only. But the 
principle is plain and 
well illustrated in Plate 
77, a position in which 
the object to be at- 
tained is so obvious 
that it is difficult to see 




" Some- 
brings 



PLATE 77 



100 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 101 




PLATE 78 



102 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 79 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



103 




PLATE 80 



104 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



how anyone could overlook it. Yet beginners seldom 
try for the proper shot. 

Diagram A shows what they almost always try to do, 
leaving the next shot a sure " scatter," with the chances 
against the balls being again brought under control. 

Study well plates 78 and 79, which also illus- 
trate the point of " keeping outside." Countless varia- 
tions of this arise. Keep your eyes open for this object 
at all times, and especially when the balls are close enough 



^ 



Tp- 



A 

Wron0 Way- Lanelip^ MoMT 
leavinj a Joa^ drive. 



4/Jp ^iqpj-^joz/s- As-s^ puiAp^i 



g 



aX 



PLATE 81 



together to enable you to "land" on either side of the 
carom ball at will without taking dangerous chances. 

The mentioned plates (77, 78, and 79) are illustrative 
of points perhaps more properly considered under the 
chapter on " Second Ball Play " ; but the positions shown 
here are so simple and common that any beginner can 
execute them. They are primary points of " second ball 
play." Advanced points will be taken up later. 



i 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 105 

Plates 80 and 81 show two more simple and frequent 
variations -of this, but having the factor of a cushion 
intervening. In each case the idea is to leave easy, short 
drives or follows instead of long drives and "scatters." 



CHAPTER XII 



PRINCIPLE No. 8.— KEEP BOTH BALLS '* AHEAD'' 
OF YOU 

THIS heading includes all shots where the principal 
point is the "carry along" of the first object ball 
to join the second. It may be an easy "ball-to-ball" 
shot, or any of the countless varieties of cushion shots. 

Let us consider the 
primary ones first. 

Plate 82 shows per- 
haps the most frequent 
leave of the kind in 
which the beginner 
goes wrong. 

Plate 83 shows an- 
other position where 
the "carry along" is 
generally the best shot, 
leaving the balls 
"ahead." 

Plate 84 is Impor- 
tant. It depicts a 
frequent leave where 
the kiss shot, carrying 
object ball along to 
carom ball, is the shot 
to give the best result, 
though the spread 




PLATE 82 



106 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



107 



draw or cushion follow may be easier to execute for the 
single count. 

The " Turning the Comer " Shot, — One of the really 




PLATE 83 



valuable shots to be thoroughly familiar with, both in 
straight rail, balk-line, or cushion caroms, is known as 
the "turning the corner" shot, fully illustrated in 








PLATE 84 



108 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



Plate 85. Diagram A shows the wrong, B the right 
way. C is the same species of shot, but at longer range. 

The point of the shot is to HIT THE OBJECT 
BALL FULL instead of hitting it thin, using enough 
" top " English to bring the cue ball out to the carom 
ball. The obj ect ball, in the meantime, having " turned 
the corner" (because it was hit full), joins the other two. 

The shot is one that takes practice, for the angles are 
highly varied, the ranges differ greatly in length. Not 




PLATE 85 



only must one have the English right, be it "top" or 
" bottom," or none at all, or right or left, but the speed 
of the stroke must also be correct. If the speed be too 
great, it results in loss of control, and too low speed 
gives an awkward leave. But It is the mastery of such 
shots as this that gives the good player opportunities to 
make big runs. It is the mastery of such details as this 
that makes the difference between the "two-man" and 
the "five-man." Sometimes you see a fine player make 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 109 

a very wry face after a shot of this sort when it did not 
land exactly as he wished, though to the average un- 
thinking player the count was made and the baUs are 
stiU near together, and there's apparently "nothing to 
kick about." 

Balls Frozen to the Cushion, — Sometimes the begin- 
ner in billiards finds the first object ball snugly resting 
against a cushion — " frozen." He experiences that tired 
feeling and says, " Tough Luck ! " But in many instances 
the leave is really a good one, and kiss shots off the railed 
balls are a part of every good player's repertoire. Many 
of them are real position shots, and a little practice will 
soon make one face such shots with perfect confidence. 

In Plate 86, Diagrams A, B, and C show the object 
ball in three different places along the rail. To the 
novice the shot looks difficult. It is really not very diffi- 
cult, and the balls gather if executed properly. 

Shoot at moderate speed and follow the directions in 
the drawing. Diagram D is a modification in which 
the same principle rules. In all of them the idea is to 
"carry along" the object ball to the carom ball. 

Plate 87 shows another " carry along " shot. 

If the first ball were hit, then it would be left behind. 
Such shots bob up all over the table. It is, in fact, the 
idea in nearly all cushion carom gathers, especially of 
the round-the-tabie variety. Plate 88 shows one of the 
most frequent of this class. 

Plates 89, 90, and 91 are the most frequent leaves 
where the " carry along " is not only essential but easily 
done, though often overlooked by beginners. The vari- 
ations, of course, are many. 



110 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 86 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



111 




PLATE 87 




PLATE 88 



112 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 89 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



113 




PLATE 90 




PLATE 81 



CHAPTER XIII 

PRINCIPLE No. 9.— AVOID LEAVING CUE BALL 
'TEOZEN" TO THE CUSHION 

WHEN a cue ball is frozen to the cushion much les 
can be done with it, for the simple and sufficieni 
reason that you cannot cue it wherever you like. As a 
rule, this can be guarded against only when the cue ball 
has a short road to travel to the count. Hence it is not 
subject for much diagram exposition. One example will 
suffice. See Plate No. 92. 



114 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



115 




PLATE 92 



CHAPTER XIV 

PRINCIPLE No. 10.— ON SHOET FOLLOWS, DEIVES AND 
CAEOMS, LOOK OUT FOE ^'LINE-UPS" AND ''TIE- 
UPS" THAT COME FEOM LANDING ON THE SECOND 
BALL TOO SOFTLY 

TTERE, again, the "freeze," "Ime-up," and "tle- 
-^ ^ up " can be avoided in close play by a little care 
and imaginative foresight. It is merely a matter of get- 




PLATE 93 



ting the force of the stroke right. Plate 93 shows a 
position where nearly all beginners line the balls up. 
They try to hit the ball very thin, and either miss it 
entirely, or count and leave a line-up. This is shown in 
B. Try rather to hit the first ball a wee bit fuller than 

116 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



117 




PLATE 94 



118 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



A 



t ■ 

O To avoid Line- Up, 

B 



o/^mite, with i shaie 
more force in the sJiot. 




WronJ- Landing full 
on 1/mite and mayeds 
too sofil^. -^ 



PLATE 95 




PLATE 96 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 119 

the second, just barely grazing the second, in fact, and 
hardly stirring it. The first ball will move out a bit and 
result in a favorable position, with balls facing the cor- 
ner. This shot will take considerable practice, simple as 
it looks, for you will be so afraid of missing the second 
that you will not hit the first full enough. Practice it 
till you overcome that fear. This, too, is important. 
This shot often enables you to get on the other side of 
the balls, so that you will be facing the corner. 

Plate 94 shows an obvious example of avoiding a 
" line-up." Playing too softly, as in Diagram A, lines the 
balls on the rail. A little more force, but not enough to 
scatter the balls, brings the first object ball out from the 
rail again. Diagram C shows a frequent position where 
the line-up is to be avoided by using slightly more 
force and a trifle more English. 

Plate 95 also illustrates a like point. In this case, 
however, one can avoid the line-up not only by using a 
shade more force, but by landing on the carom ball a 
wee bit farther to the right. 

Plate 96 shows how the player drives the object ball 
across the table and back. The amount of force needed 
to drive a ball a certain distance is known sub-con- 
sciously, perhaps. On such shots as these, we, without 
thinking, use about so much force, learned by experi- 
ence. But that amount will often line the balls up on the 
rail. Whenever confronted by this leave, stop a moment 
and then use just the least bit more force or a wee bit 
less than usual. Preferably, generally use a little 
more. This will be determined largely by the length 
of draw or the angle, even slight variations making 



120 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




1 



PLATE 07 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



121 




PLATE 98 



122 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



important diiFerences that practice alone leads one to 
appreciate. 

Diagrams A, B, and C of Plates 97 and 98 are varia- 
tions of shots where players line the balls up oftener, 
perhaps, than anywhere else. 

Of the many instances in the average game where tie- 
ups (generally in the form of an alignment of the balls) 

are threatened, perhaps 
none is more common 
than the position de- 
picted in Plate 99. It 
looks so simple and in- 
viting, just an easy lit- 
tle "spread" shot (that 
is, a draw at or about 
a right angle). 
Through long practice 
the player almost un- 
consciously hits the ob- 
ject ball just hard 
enough to send it 
across the table and 
back to or very near 
the side rail. In this 
case the plain ball-to- 
ball " spread " is likely 
to result in an align- 
ment along the rail, as' 
shown in Diagram B of the same plate. It is easily 
avoided by drawing the ball to the cushion. Thus the 
object ball is kept away from the cushion, and even il 




PLATE 99 



I 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



123 





s 










^ 


^ 


1 >1 






1 




If 1 


I 




\ 


iSl 


^ 


Uv 






l« 1 




\ r 
\i 




L|^ . 





: 


V 



PLATE 100 



they line up the cushion is available for assistance on the 
next shot. 

In nursing balls in the short table, especially with 
short draw shots along the end rail, a little carelessness 
often results in tie-ups. I wish to give two frequent 
examples of this in Plates 100 and 101. Plate 100 




PLATE 101 



124 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

shows a frequent little follow shot. Take great pains to 
land on the outer edge of the carom ball ; otherwise you 
will be left in line with a difficult masse or scattering 
around the table shot. Diagram B of the same plate 
shows how to make the shot. These, like all close posi- 
tion shots, require a nicety of execution. 

Plate 101 shows another threatened tie-up. By draw- 
ing the ball too slowly, just getting to the carom ball, 
you are likely to leave a line-up, a freeze, or a masse shot 
at best. This is shown in Diagram A. Diagram B shows 
how, by landing a little harder, you escape the threat- 
ened tie-up. 



CHAPTER XV 



PRINCIPLE No. 11.— A ^'DEAD'^ DKAW, FOLLOW, OE 
MASSE IS GENEEALLY BETTEE THAN A '*LIVE'' 
ONE 

THE truth of this principle is, of course, obvious. 
It is the old idea of staying near at least one ball 
and if possible near both. In nearly all masse shots one 
can stay near both. 

Plate 102 shows the point. The masse shot illustrated 
is one frequently occurring in the " rail-nurse." The 









/ \ '^•'— >o^ 






/ V ., ^Il- r 












\ / DeaJDraw^LeavInji %^\ 
\ / J)alls clustered. A Ifre $t:^.^- 
\. / draw TYould lose control. S * "^ 


















N/ 











PLATE 102 

draw position shown is one that often results in a perfect 
" line-nurse " position. 

Particular need for the draw and masse to be " dead " 
occurs when the balls are in the open table, with no 
chance for the cushions or fortuitous "kisses" to help 
hold the balls. 

125 



CHAPTER XVI 

PRINCIPLE No. 12.— ON OPEN TABLE SHOTS, IF NOTH- 
ING BETTEE OFFEES, TEY TO LEAVE AT LEAST ONE 
BALL NEAE A CUSHION, AND IF POSSIBLE NEAB 
A COENEE 

TJOSSIBLY this hardly deserves to be ranked as a 
■*- " principle " of position play. It is more a matter 
of " tight hole " tactics. But the situation arises so fre- 
quently that the idea is, nevertheless, well worth getting 
firmly in mind. 




PLATE 103 



Plate 103 shows a position where this is the point. 
There are many. The first object ball cannot be well 
driven around for a gather in the comer, either because 
the cue ball is too near it, or because the cue ball could 

126 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



127 



I 




PLATE 104 



128 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 105 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 129 

not be made to land "dead" on the carom ball, or be- 
cause a hard shot would jump the cue ball off the table. 
Shoot softly and there will be left a fairly easy round- 
the-table gather shot. Plate 104 shows another variation 
of this idea. Plate 105 shows still another. This one is 
played when the object ball (as in this diagram) does 
not lie favorably for it to be driven to the cushion and 
back to j oin the carom ball. If you land pretty fully on 
the carom ball, you are almost sure to get a draw for a 
gather, no matter which side of the carom ball you 
land on. 



CHAPTER XVII 

GETTING OUT OF HOLES— (A SEMI- ADVANCED POSI- 
TION PLAY) — A CONSIDERATION OF VARIOUS USE- 
FUL SHOTS WHICH ARE OF GREAT HELP IN CER- 
TAIN UNUSUAL POSITIONS 

"DEFORE taking up advanced position play, under 
■^^ which head we will consider " second ball play " and 
the various standard nurses, such as the " rail," the 
"line," the "anchor," the "chuck," the "rub," etc., let 
us consider some useful points in certain not infrequent 
but more or less difficult positions. Nearly all of them 
will be useful at times in primary as well as in advanced 
position play. 

Some of these are little "tricks of the trade" that 
verge upon advanced work, but nearly all can be mas- 
tered by any fairly good amateur. The point lies not 
so much in the doing as the knowing of them. 

Cue Ball English Transferred. — Plate 106 has to do 
with the effect of English transferred from the cue 
ball to the object ball. (See references to this on 
Plate No. 29.) Note particularly Diagrams A (the 
wrong way) and B (the right way). It is a simple 
little draw which every player meets time and time 
again. In making this shot it is very important to 
draw to the inside edge of the carom ball. Then, when 
the object ball comes back, it kisses the cue ball back and 

130 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



131 



% 






UBf-^nj sf/Y puo //BJ 9^f fn^ pp^ 



■^ \ throwing Fed out from rail 



PLATE 106 



Itself stays nestled against the carom ball, offering the 
" edge "-nurse, the " rail "-nurse, or some other form of 
easy counting. This is a valuable shot, but it needs 
patient practice, and in billiards patient practice pays 
dividends in points. 

Plate 107 is another illustration on the same point. 



!\ 






A 



B 



PLATE 107 



132 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



How often it happens that your opponent closes his 
inning, leaving you a beautiful " set-up," out of which, 
much to your disgust, you make only two or three points 
before the balls are hopelessly out of position. 

As a rule, the damage was done on the VERY FIRST 
SHOT. The leave was so easy ! That is, the first point 
was. So you hastily blazed away, not stopping to notice 
that there were two, and perhaps three, ways to start 
off. You chose the most obvious, and it was the worst. 




PLATE 108 



Let us consider a few shots of just that character — 
" gay deceivers," they may be called. In Plate No. 108, 
Diagrams A and B : The obvious and simplest way is the 
easy "ball-to-ball" carom. But it will leave the balls 
spread and not " ahead " of you. Diagram A shows the 
way to gather them snugly by doubling the comer, in- 
stead of making the straight carom. 

In B the player, instead of making the ordinary carom, 
draws softly past the edge of the carom ball for the first 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



133 



shot and gathers the balls on the other rail for the second 
shot. 

I wish to call special attention to Plate No. 109, Dia- 
gram A. The picture shows the balls in mid-table, but 
the principle is the same anywhere, and most often this 
shot is played near the end rails. When you have a close 
draw, and the object ball is near the cushion, and will kiss 
back, it is of the utmost importance to get the draw 
action on your cue ball quicMy, so that the cue ball is 




PLATE 109 

, well under way on its course back to the carom ball 
when the kiss takes place. Then, being under way, it 
does not check the object ball, which follows along with 
the cue ball to the carom ball, leaving all three together. 
If the cue ball is not under way, it will stop the object 
ball by its inertia when they kiss and leave the object 
ball standing where the kiss took place, the cue and 
carom balls on the other side of the table. 

Sometimes to get the draw action on more quickly the 



134 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



player may elevate the butt of the cue a trifle, giving the 
shot a little masse effect. If the cue and object balls are 
very close a full masse is used to get instant draw action. 

For the shot shown in Diagram C hit the cue hall low 
and on the right, " swelling " hack from the cushion. 

In Plate 110, Diagram A, the important point is to hit 
the object ball full enough to bring it out to the carom 




PLATE 110 



ball, rather than to "cut it thin" and send it down the 
table. Hit the cue ball toward the top. 

Diagram B shows a position where a ball-to-ball shot 
would spoil everything. By following to the cushion, 
driving object ball over and back again, landing dead 
with the cue ball, you can get a favorable position, where 
ordinarily a scatter looks more likely. Sometimes, on 
this, one can get the line-nurse on the second shot. 

Plate 111, Diagram A, shows an easy way out of a 
line-up on the rail. By hitting the red ball full, with 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



135 



right English and follow, or "top," the red ball comes 
out from the rail, the cue ball follows in and caroms with 
the second ball on its return from the cushion. 




PLATE 111 



Diagram B is drawn with an exaggerated curve, show- 
ing the course of the cue ball after a masse, so as to 
make the point of the shot clear. In this position an 




PLATE 112 



136 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 113 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



137 



ordinary masse or draw, hitting the object ball center, 
would drive it away. By the masse toward the right or 
mid-table side of the object ball you hold it back. This 
shot is rather difficult and requires practice. 

In all these masse draws bear in mind what you want 
the object ball to do, as well as what you want the cue 
ball to do. If you want it to stay on the same side of 
the table, hold your cue high. Then the masse action 
takes effect quickly, and the object ball is hit lightly. 




PLATE 114 



leaving it behind. If you want the object ball to come 
back across the table with the cue hall to cluster with it 
and the carom ball, do not elevate the cue so much and 
go harder into the object ball. 

In Plate 112 are two positions where the object ball is 
frozen to the cushion or very near it. In Diagram A, by 
drawing directly back from the object ball to the carom 
ball, one may not only count, but the object ball, forced 
into the cushion, " springs out " and will come to the 



138 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 115 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 139 




PLATE 116 



140 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

corner with the others. In Diagram B the same result is 
attained. 

In Plate 113 the cue ball is shown in two positions, 
one near the left rail, the other in mid-table. In 
the first case (A) hit the cushion first. In the second 
(B) hit the ball first for a direct kiss. In both cases the 
reverse English will deaden the cue ball on the end rail 
and all the balls will stop fairly close together. The 
same shot may be made with the carom ball in the lower 
left-hand comer by giving the stroke a little more force. 

Plate 114* shows a direct kiss back from the object 
ball, which is frozen to the side rail. The cue ball is 
struck low, with reverse English. The reverse becomes 
" direct " on contact with the opposite rail with the count 
easily effected, a fair position generally resulting. 

In Plate 115 we show the two object balls in the 
extreme corners. The principle of the shot is the same 
if they be closer together. The cue ball must be hit 
high, and the object ball struck full as if for a follow. 
After the recoil from the contact the cue ball, still 
affected by the "top," seeks the end rail again, the 
degree of the curvature of its course, in the effort to get 
back to the rail, depending upon the force of the stroke and 
the amount of the follow effect. The shot is impossible 
with " side " or draw English. 

In Plate 116 is shown a position where the follow is 
impossible on account of a certain "kiss off." The ob- 
ject ball is too close to the cushion for an inside shot 
with right-hand English. But by using top and left 
English the cue ball will curve in toward the rail 
enough to count. 



PART III 

By Maurice Daly 



Advanced Position Play 



CHAPTER XVIII 



SECOND BALL PLAY 



THE dividing line between primary and advanced 
position play is not sharp. Some of the shots we 
have just considered might well be put under advanced 
work. The two divisions gradually and naturally merge 
into each other. But in advanced position play we may 




PLATE 117 



fairly count all that class of close work where "little 
differences make the biggest differences," where the ut- 
most nicety of execution is required to give exactly the 

143 



144 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



right force, the right amount of English, and where, by 
perfect play, large runs may be made with the balls 

moving but little and 
without driving around 
the table. 

This is true "ball-to- 
ball" billiards and al- 
ways has as a charac- 
teristic the point of 
LANDING ON THE 
SECOND BALL IN 
EXACTLY THE 
RIGHT SPOT, AND 
WITH THE RIGHT 
FORCE. 

Therefore, in taking 
it up we will first con- 
sider some shots which 
will emphasize the 
principles of second 
ball play. This class 
of shots is not beyond 
PLATE 118 any fair amateur, and 

a study of the principles cannot fail to enormously im- 
prove his game. 

Where the cue ball lands on the carom ball is fre- 
quently of the most extreme importance. In close nurs- 
ing the expert player will be seen taking the utmost pains 
at times, and to the tyro seemingly without necessity. 
The thing he is after is not only to make the count but 
in so doing to land on the carom ball in a particular 




DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



145 



spot to keep the balls "faced" right, or "under his 
hand." 

Plate 117 shows a simple case of second ball play, an 
easy draw shot, the balls being as far at least toward 
mid-table, we will say, as the spot. The object here is 
to land on the "outside" ; i. e., the side near the other 
end of the table. Then the object balls will be toward 
the comers, and the 
player facing that way 
on the next shot. 

In Plate 118, Dia- 
gram A, is shown a 
draw shot, say, of eight 
or ten inches. If the 
player draws to the 
outside edge (left, as 
he stands ) the balls will 
be left " ahead " of him 
and facing the comer, 
instead of leaving the 
cue ball between the 
other two. Sometimes, 
it is true, he wishes to 
land between them, to 
have a draw shot for 
the next, but in either 
case the point of the 
shot is landing right 
on the second ball. 

Making his " land " properly, he has the balls still in 
control, with all kinds of possibilities, instead of a 




PLATE 119 



146 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



" saving-his-lif e " shot to make at any cost, regardless 
of position. 

Plate 119 shows two of the easiest and most frequent 
examples of landing on the carom ball on the out- 
side, leaving the balls in control, and facing the cor- 
ner or end rail, with a choice of shots. Landing in- 
side makes a long drive on the first or succeeding shots 
almost inevitable. 




PLATE 120 



Plate 120 shows another very frequent position, and 
these easy frequent cases are just the ones that will 
help you the most. So get them well in mind. 

In Plate 121 is another common leave. The utmost 
care should be taken to land right on the second object 
ball. Hit the first object ball thin, shooting softly, and 
the resulting leave will be a simple draw shot that will 
leave the balls in the corner. If by hitting the first ball 
too full it then lands on the carom ball on the side near- 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



147 







^ w'^CX^I 




>• 








^ / II 


1 * 


*5:i 


•v fy/ lllll 






' 1 



PLATE 121 



I 


'■^^^ 1 


1 


|a i 


1 


Wron^- Lanciln^ on B 
inside of WMi 1 


1 '^i^^VM /'^ ^pTsinox 
1 uo i>uTpuj3'j -fti^r^ 


1 


1 '^^ 


i 


1 ^ 


1 



PLATE 122 



148 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



est the rail, the result is almost sure to be a drive or some 
awkward shot, with possibly no chance to retain control. 

When the two object balls are far apart on this shot 
it is not advisable to attempt too much, but when they 
are fairly close together it is always a place to at- 
tempt a correct landing. 

Plate 1S2 shows the same idea on the side rail, but 
here the point is to gain, not a draw, but an easy carom 
or other close shot without a long drive. 




PLATE 123 

Plate 1S3 explains itself. Here again landing right 
means control retained; landing wrong means a "sav- 
ing-your-life shot." 

Plate 124 shows a long follow down the side rail. At 
first glance one might say that the position shown was 
a parallel in billiard-principle to the short follows on the 
end rail. But the important difference is this — in the 
long follow you must hit the cue ball a pretty smart rap 
to follow so far; hence you are very unlikely to remain 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



149 



very near the second ball after the count and will force 
it toward the corner, leaving you some working space. 
The result is not nearly so likely to be favorable if your 




PLATE 124 



cue ball lands either on the edge or on the cushion so far 
from the carom ball that it goes off the edge of the latter 
toward the center of the table. 




PLATE 125 



150 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



If the follow be a short one, then some care must be j 
taken so that the cue ball, after the count, may come out { 
from the cushion and not leave a line-up. This may be \ 
done by landing with the cue ball on the cushion first, cr 
by landing on the outside of the center of the second j 
ball and kissing out. ' 

In Plate 125 is shown a common and simple little draw 
shot. The result is shown if you draw to the edge of the 




PLATE 126 



second ball, leaving your cue ball out from the cushion and 
both obj ect balls ahead of you. Another way of attaining 
the same result is shown in Diagram B — drawing to the 
cushion first and running out toward center of table. 
Each shot has its advantages and disadvantages. Method 
A is a little more exacting and therefore more likely to 
be missed. Method B may possibly leave your cue ball 
too far toward the center of the table to afford easy 
nursing thereafter. I 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



151 



Method C, however, admits of no argument. It 
leaves all three balls on the rail, and if not frozen, or 
very near it, the best you can get is a masse, or bank 
shot, or a scattering round the table shot. 

Plate 126 shows a short draw shot, where the im- 
portant point is to have the cue ball land on the far 
side of the carom ball. This will avoid a line-up and 
frequently the resulting leave will be an easy draw shot 
for the balk-line nurse. The leave may be a thin 




PLATE 127 



shot, to be followed by a draw, or it may be a draw first, 
or even a follow, depending upon the original position 
of the balls (nearer or farther from the side rail you are 
facing while making the first shot), but in all cases you 
must land on the second hall right. 

In Plate 127, again a short draw shot and drive, the 
object is to land behind the second ball, so that one ball, 
at least, is left " ahead " and facing a rail. The second 



152 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

shot may be a draw, thin shot, or half follow, but it 
will not he a kiss-hack, which is always dangerous if of 
any length. 

Plate 128 shows a position where lack of care will 
result in a "kiss-off" and too much force will give a 
" scatter " or a " line-up." Strike the cue ball above the 
center with reverse English, first object ball three-quar- 
ters full, carrying it along with the cue ball. The latter 
should strike the cushion almost directly behind carom 
ball to avoid a kiss; the "reverse" brings it up to the 
count, landing dead. This shot frequently gives the 
" line-nurse " position. The stroke should be made very 
easily. 

Plate 129 shows the familiar "turning the comer" 
shot. Strike cue ball with left and top English, first ob- 
ject ball full, driving it around the comer to meet carom 
ball at the line. You will notice that this is a case 
of driving two balls, but it is at close range, where 
control is possible, and therefore admissible. 

Practice this shot at various positions. You will then 
soon learn the slight differences which, in close work in 
straight rail billiards, give the "rail-nurse," or in balk- 
line billiards the " line-nurse," or the " anchor " or 
"chuck-nurse" positions. You will see each time, what 
cannot be shown in a diagram very well, just where to 
land on the second hall, as well as how to bring the first 
ball around the corner. Generally you land dead as pos- 
sible on the second ball. 

Plate 130 shows a variation of this turning the cor- 
ner, where you can land on the second ball " outside," 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



153 





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PLATE 128 




PLATE 129 



154 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



just as easily as on the inside, and then get a better 
result, the balls facing the end rail. 

In Plate 131 is shown one kind of a line-up that offers 
a perfect position shot. It is played as a follow. Cue 
ball catches the second object ball on the kiss. The 
shot must be made hard enough so that the kiss (which 
will stop the cue ball almost dead) will send the first ball 
over to the rail and back to the line for position. Wher- 
ever it stops it will probably be in a good position. 



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PLATE 130 



Plate 132 shows the easiest way for a large class of 
shots where care must be used to keep cue ball "out- 
side" (nearer mid-table after counting), so as to have 
more counts at command. 

And here is an important point. This shot, in its vari- 
ations, will frequently be such that the first object ball, 
on its return from the cushion may be made to catch the 
cue ball on a kiss, and will stop " dead " by the other ball. 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



155 



The cue ball will not move far, and often the " anchor," 
"chuck," or "rail "-nurse positions will result. As will 
be shown later, this 
is one of the shots 
experts use to attain 
one of these positions. 
Plate 133 shows a 
case where the second 
object ball must be 
"loosened" from the 
cushion. If done ex- 
actly right, the cue 
ball may be left so 
that on the next shot 
all the balls may be 
brought together 

again. Use reverse English on the cue ball, touching 
first ob j ect ball lightly so as not to drive it away. Land 




PLATE 131 




PLATE 132 



156 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



pretty full on object ball so as to force it out to the side 
rail and back, not frozen to either rail. This shot is 
called for when second object ball is so near the far rail 




^ad position. 





PLATE 133 



that the cue and object balls are likely to nestle closely 
together, leaving a difficult shot for a gather, even 
though a masse might possibly make the count. If the 









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&l>ore it for position. 


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so/t s?2oi, to ^et a. 
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PLATE 134 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 157 

second ball is not very near the far rail, the "draw- 
back," or " masse-back," position, already explained, 
may be used for the gather. 

Sometimes it is desired to hit the second ball very thin, 
yet the cue ball has some little distance to travel from 
object ball to carom ball, and the shot must be made 
softly. In such cases, remember that on plain, slow 
caroms the cue ball, if true, will almost invariably roll in 
a trifle. So allow for it. Practice alone will tell you how 
much allowance to make for the " roll-in." 

Plate 134 illustrates the point, one for a thin land, 
the other for a full land. 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE <'CHUCK-NUESE'» 

AS a preliminary to the consideration of the standard 
nursing positions, the "chuck," the "rub," the 
"anchor," the "rail," and the "line," let us take a 
couple of diagrams illustrating again and impressing 
firmly a principle absolutely necessary in all of them. 
Then we will consider nursing positions in their natural 
order, " natural " in the sense that one leads to the other. 
And, also, they were developed, historically, in the order 
in which I have considered them. 

Some exception may be taken to my placing the 
" anchor " before the " rail," but this is merely a matter 
of nomenclature. The word "anchor" was applied to 
this nurse after the balk-line game was invented. In the 
*' anchor" the balls are astride the balk-line. But the 
shot was played before balk-lines were invented, though, 
of course, imperfectly, and for only small runs. Actually 
it originated as a part of straight rail work. Later, 
Jacob Schaefer discovered that he could work the same 
shot with the balls astride the line to defeat the balk. 
Then, and not till then, was it called the "anchor." 
Again, the "rail-nurse" is a running-nurse, and the 
anchor-nurse is a stationary-nnvse. The running-nurse 
was of later development and grew out of the stationary. 

158 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 159 

In Plate 135 is shown a very important stroke, one 
absolutely necessary if you even aim to partly master the 
rail-nurse or the balk-line nurse. The point is as to the 
effect of English passing from the cue ball to the object 
ball. (See note to Plate 29.) If, in the shot shown, 
you English on the left, the object ball takes right 
English and moves to the right on the rail, keeping 
NEAR THE CAROM BALL. The other English would 




PLATE 135 



leave the object ball standing still, instead of moving 
along to join its fellows. 

This shot is the foundation of the rail-nurse and 
should be practiced with the balls at varying angles to 
get used to it — to see just how and how much the Eng- 
lish takes. Try it with right English, then with left, 
and then with none. Master this and you have started 
on the rail-nurse, at which any good amateur should 
often run twenty-five or more, and at which some ama- 
teurs have made runs far into the hundreds. 



160 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



The ^^Chuck-Nurse." — The principle just studied is 
important in the "chuck-nurse" when played in the 
balk-line game, for it enables you to keep the first object 
ball, frozen against the rail, from crossing the balk-line. 
The "chuck" position is shown in Plates 136 and 137. 

In playing this shot do not hit the cue ball below cen- 




PLATE 136 
Perspective view of tlie " Chuck-Nurse," at which W. A. Spinks ran 1010 



ter. Hit it shghtly above, and it slows up coming back 
for the count and lands softly. Hitting above the center 
also helps to keep the first object ball frozen to the 
cushion. You should try to have the cue ball land as 
NEAR THE EDGE of the carom ball as possible, and as 
softly as possible. The aim is to leave both object 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



161 



balls unmoved, so the carom may be repeated indefinitely. 
If in counting the cue ball freezes to the second object 
ball, so much the better. On the cue ball you may vary 
your English from 



A 
would 



box that 
\prevent the 
Ch.ick Nurse'' 



The Chuck JVursc posJiion. 
"out of ar. cAor - out iff f>a7Jc " 
zs a sort 



Tf2e shot 



of k/ss-/)ac^. 



/fit cue-f>c^7I center or s7>oyf 



center, ve. 



Carom to 
ini? iAe 



y softfy. 
ed0e of IVfiJte, Visry 
engffsfi as neeefecf tijfold ifie 
ofyect />aJ7 fn p/ace. 



side to side as needed, 
to keep the first ob- 
ject ball in the same 
spot. 

It is surprising how 
many points even a 
fair amateur can make 
at this nurse if he 
plays softly enough 
and gets "the feel" 
of the stroke. You 
just touch the cue 
ball, else the shot will be too hard. In Denver in 1912, 
Frank Dreiher, then an amateur, made a run of 
245 at this nurse. William A. Spinks, now retired, but 
once a leading professional, made, in the fall of 1912, 
1,010 points at this nurse in 18.2, and ceased play with 
the position still good. The plate shows the shot astride 
the balk-Hne, but the position is the same in straight rail, 
without balk-lines. 



PLATE 137 



CHAPTER XX 



THE '^BUB-NUESE" 

THE "rub-nurse" arose in the development of cush- 
ion caroms. It is the finest cushion carom position 
possible, sometimes resulting in very long runs. It is 
shown in Plate 138. In playing it the cue ball moves a 
small fraction of an inch and the object balls even less. I 
have seen Martin Mullen, an amateur, make more than 
100 points at this nurse in cushion caroms, moving the 
balls only a few inches. It is just as useful in straight 
rail, and in balk-line astride the line at its end. 

The cue ball strikes the cushion first generally (not 

always), with a little 
reverse English and 
top." Then it car- 
oms, but the reverse 
and top English 
deaden the cue ball so 
the object balls are 
scarcely disturbed. 

Sometimes the 
chuck-nurse posi- ] 
tion grows out of i 
PLATE 138 spoiling the rub- 

nurse position. But whenever you get the balls close 

162 




DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 163 

together on the rail, watch the chances to nudge them 
into one of these great positions, or into the anchor. The 
latter is far more difficult to execute, and in modem com- 
petition games it is barred as being too easy, though no 
players ever made many at it except Schaefer and Ives. 
In ordinary balk-line competitions I think by all means 
it ought to be allowed. It adds greatly to the variety 
of play and hence the interest of the game. 



CHAPTER XXI 



THE ''ANCHOE-NUESE'' 

PLATE 139 shows the "anchor-nurse" position. It 
is shown with the balk-hnes, but in straight rail 
bilhards the position often occurs at other places along 
the rail. Many think that the anchor means the position 
where both object balls are frozen to the rail, side by 
side. But this, while a kind of anchor, is not the position 
made famous by Schaefer and Ives. In the real anchor 
one ball is frozen to the cushion, the other is out a bit. 
The ball on the rail is made to bear all the burden of im- 
pact of cue ball. 

As shown in our plate the rail ball, on the first shot, 
is hit fairly full but very softly. The cue ball kisses off 

from this and just 
barely " grazes the 
glisten " of the second 
or free ball, and stops 
very near it. On the 
second shot the free 
ball is hit first, but it 
is barely grazed, and 
not moved from its 
place. The rail ball 
PLATE 139 is met fuller, and the 

cue ball kisses up from it to the original position, just 

164 




DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 165 

where they were in the first place. 

The anchor, it will be seen, consists of two shots, " go- 
ing out and coming back," as the golfers would say. In 
this nurse, too, the effect of twist in holding the ball on 
the rail in place is important. But the nurse cannot be 
played except with the utmost delicacy, not to disturb 
the free ball from its position. After several shots it 
begins to settle into the cloth a bit, and as it settles it 
becomes " anchored " in its spot. 



CHAPTER XXII 

THE *' RAIL-NURSE'' 

THE student, if he has practiced these shots, should 
now be ready for the rail-nurse. This is important, 
not so much for itself (in the larger cities little straight 
rail, unfortunately, now obtains among good players) 
as for the fact that it is the best possible schooling for 
the balk-line nurse, and indeed other position plays in 
countless number all over the table. Wherever close 
manipulation is called for there the principles learned 
in the rail-nurse come into play. 

In my opinion, players take up the balk-line too 
quickly, and neglect the straight-rail game, to the detri- 
ment of their own play. Cushion caroms, too (not three- 
cushion caroms, however), is a game of the veri^ highest 
value in its teaching effect, and of the utmost beauty in 
position-playing possibilities. For the competition 
player I cannot urge its practice too strongly in prep- 
aration for a match at balk-line. 

First, in Plate 140, see illustrated the normal rail 
position, and a series of theoretically perfect shots. Ball 
No. 2 (on the outside) should travel along a straight 
line 4f inches from the rail. Ball No. 1 (on the inside) 
zigzags to and from the rail, and the two stop in a 

166 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



167 



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duplicate of the original position 
each time, but a little bit further 
along the rail. 

In all this discussion of the rail- 
nurse I refer to Ball No. 1, mean- 
ing the ball nearest the rail, and 
Ball No. 2, meaning the outside 
ball. 

Perfect Execution Not Possi- 
ble, — So much for the theory of 
the shot. Sometimes the player 
will make a series of these perfect 
shots. But even the most expert 
players make mistakes in execution. 
No. 1 (ball nearest rail) is hit too 
hard or too full or too easily. 
Sometimes ball No. 2 is forced out- 
side of the five-inch line and it must 
be flocked back, or the nurse is lost, 
and so it goes. 

The Rail-Nurse a Series of Mis- 
takes. — The rail-nurse, therefore, 
as it comes into actual play, is for 
the most part a series of mistakes 
and shots to correct them. 

In the normal, perfect shot very 
little English, generally none, is 
used, and the cue ball is hit center, 
or a trifle below. Some find that it 
aids delicacy in landing to elevate 
the cue butt a trifle and to hold 
the cue firmer in the cue hand. 

Two Classes of Mistakes. — The 



PLATE 140 



168 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

mistakes in execution may be divided roughly into two 
classes — first, mistakes which occur with both object 
balls still inside the five-inch line on completion of the 
count ; second, those shots in which one or both balls get 
outside the five-inch line. In the next chapter we will 
take up the positions arising from the most frequent 
errors, with both balls left inside the five-inch line. 

In making the normal shot, I must not forget to call 
particular attention to this : Ball No. 1 must not be left 
on the cushion, but it must come out to join ball No. 2. 
In so doing, however — and note this well! — No, 1 must 
not he hit so hard as to maJce it hiss No. 2. That would 
force No. 2 across the five-inch line. 

Also, in making this carom the cue ball must land on 
the center or the veriest shade to the outside of center of 
ball No. 2. The beginner's tendency is to land on the 
inside of center, thus forcing ball No. 2 across the five- 
inch line and leaving his cue ball in between the two 
object balls. 

In making the perfect or normal rail shot No. 2 ball 
moves from 2^ to 3 inches; No. 1 ball, of course, by 
reason of its zigzag course, must travel a little farther. 
Therefore, it must get a trifle more impetus. You must 
land dead on No. 2, but not dead enough to freeze. 



■ 1 

I 



CHAPTER XXIII 

THE EAIL-NUESE (Continued) 

T N THE last chapter we saw in diagram how the theo- 
■*• retically perfect rail shot simply moved the balls 
along like a team of well-trained horses, ball No. 2 mov- 
ing along in a straight path on an imaginary line about 
4f inches from the rail, while ball No. 1 zigzagged in 
and out from the cushion, joining its mate and leaving 
a series of repetitions of the original position. Fre- 
quently the player will make a series of these perfect 
shots. But this twain of horses are trick horses. A mis- 
take of execution comes and then the normal position 
has to be recovered by careful manipulation. 

I have divided these mistakes into two classes, those 
that force ball No. 2 outside the five-inch line and those 
that leave it still inside the five-inch line. 

In the diagrams shown herewith the halls are shown 
from positions occurring in actual play of the rail-nurse 
by myself^ and they are drawn to exact scale. 

In all this rail work the distance the balls travel on 
each shot is short, sometimes only a fraction of an inch, 
sometimes two or three inches, or in rare cases even as 
much as six inches, in certain recovery shots. Even repe- 
titions of the "normal" shot are not perfect duplicates, 
and the minute differences, while not enough to destroy 

169 



170 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



the position, may, nevertheless, make one shot in which 
the balls move half an inch and again two to three inches. 
So great a difference does such a little difference make 
that it is impossible to do more by diagram than to show 
the principle. The player must practice the positions 
carefully and repeatedly, and learn by actual play just 
the "feel," amount of English, etc. 



A. — Ball No. 1 did not go far enough 
to join No. 2. Cure — Cue ball ' ' top " 
and left English, Ball No. 1 hit full, 
just enough off center to carom on 
right of center of Ball No. 2. It is a 
kiss shot from No. 1, and No. 1 
' * squeezes ' ' along to the right. 



B. — Next, fine shot, left English, 
landing on No. 1 quite full, to avoid 
line-up or freeze. 



C. — Balls now in normal rail position 
again. 

(Position No. 1 in each case is the re- 
sult of faulty play with a perfect rail 
leave.) 




,1': 




■Pi 



PLATE 141 



In the above illustration, as in similar ones further iii 
on, the first position shows the balls as they lie from an 
imperfect preceding stroke, and "out of position." 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



171 



Key to These Particular Diagrams. — Note carefully : 
beside each position is printed a description of just how 
the shot is made to produce the succeeding position. 
In these shots the balls move along very short distances. 
The drawings separate the second position from the first, 
the third from the second, etc., a good bit to make it 
clear. -, 



A. — Ball No. 1 was hit too hard as 
compared with No. 2 and got ahead of 
it. Cure— Hit No. 2 full, English on 
right to keep cue ball to right. 



B. — Be sure now to have cue ball 
land to right of center of No. 2. Play 
easily, English right. 



C. — Soft carom, English right; both 
balls move in toward the rail. 



D. — The normal rail position recov- 
ered. 





§ 



PLATE 142 



172 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

In all these shots bear again in mind that you must 
not let ball No. 1 move so fast off the cushion as to kiss 
No. 2 out across the five-inch line. The two dotted lines 
are (on the plate) approximately 4f and 5 inches, re- 
spectively, from the rail, and along these lines the balls 
should be kept. The prime dangers as to this are that 
No. 1 stays too near the rail, and that No. 2 gets over 
the five-inch line. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

EECOVEBY OF POSITION FEOM OTHEE FAULTY LEAVES 
INSIDE THE FIVE-INCH LINE 

A FAULTY position from playing the normal rail 
shot is shown in Plate 143. Ball No. 2 (out- 
side ball) was pushed a trifle too far to the left, because 
the cue ball landed on it too far to the right of center. 
Read the notes alongside the diagrams to see how to 
regain the normal rail position. 

One must always bear in mind in playing the rail or 
balk-line nurses the fact that in driving an object ball 
to the cushion right English on the cue hall gives the 
object ball left English, and vice versa. Therefore, 
when you want ball No. 1 to advance, in the rail posi- 
tion shown in these plates, left English helps it along 
the rail and right English retards it. 

The next faulty leave illustrated (Plate 144) some- 
times arises from a lack of sufficient left English on the 
preceding shot, thus failing to carry ball No. 1 (inside 
ball) along ahead of the cue ball. 

This position is one requiring extreme accuracy, espe- 
cially on the first shot, which must not knock No. 2 ball 
away. 



173 



174 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



At first you may have some difficulty in getting the 
exact amount of force in the shot. A little practice, 
however, will give the average player a surprising 
amount of control. In time the appreciation of just 



A. — First use plenty of left English, 
and hit No. 1 loall three-quarters full, a 
' ' half -follow ' ' shot. This will ' ' squeeze ' ' 
No. 1 along the rail inside of No. 2 and 
push No. 2 out toward the five-inch line 
again. 




B. — Now a very fine shot, with left 
English, to work No. 1 along toward 
No. 2. No. 1 kisses cue ball back to 
avoid a freeze. 



C. — The result is the normal rail posi- 
tion again. 



PLATE 143 

how hard to hit the cue ball becomes subconscious. 
Practice on this will help you elsewhere in nursing. 
The great aid value to your general game that practice 
on this nurse gives, makes a little work on it desirable. 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



175 



A. — In this case the cue ball got 
slightly ahead of Ball No. 1. Cure — 
Cue ball hit barely above center, with 
LEFT ENGLISH, kissing back and 
JUST GKAZING BaU No. 2, scarcely 
stirring it. 



B. — A fine shot. Play very softly not 
to move No. 2. English left, landing on 
No. 1 full, but to the LEFT OF CEN- 
TEE. 



C. — Cue ball hit top and left, landing 
on No. 1, like a '' half -follow " shot. 



D. — Eesult, the normal rail position 
recovered. 



.O 




PLATE 144 



CHAPTER XXV 

RECOVERY OF POSITION FROM OTHER FAULTY LEAVES 
INSIDE THE FIVE-INCH LINE (Continued) 

THIS chapter finishes the most important and com- 
mon of the faulty leaves inside the five-inch line, 
made from the normal rail position as a start. 

First, in this chapter take the case of the balls lying 
as shown in Plate 145, in which the cue ball got outside 
and possibly a bit ahead of ball No. 2. It is one of the 
shots that must be very exact in execution, and, if so, the 
desired recovery is effected in one stroke. This shot is 
difficult, the difficulty arising in getting enough follow 



A. — A follow shot. English on the 
right to hold the object ball, which may 
even kiss off from carom ball a trifle. 
Cue ball lands fairly full on Ball No. 1, 
but on ITS LEFT HALF. 




B. — The normal rail position regained. 



O 
O 



PLATE 145 



without hitting No. 2 too hard. Plate 146 explains 
itself. 



176 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 177 




A. — Ball No. 2 not far enough along. 
Very thin, just grazing Ball No. 1 (the 
■white). Cue ball left English, going to 
cushion and coming out again 2 to 2% 
inches. 



•B. — Eesult, the normal rail position 
regained. 

O 

There are also a number of mis- Q 

takes made in the course of correct- 
ing mistakes, to regain the normal, 
but if you master the principles plate 146 

here illustrated the cures in these special cases will 
readily occur to you. 

We next show a pair of masse positions, the result of 
which, in each case, if properly made, is the regaining 
of the normal rail position. (They are Plates 147 
and 148.) 

As the reader will suspect, the 
diagrams by no means exhaust the 
slightly differing faulty positions 
from which recoveries of the nor- 
mal position may be recoveied. 



A. — A masse. Cue ball pushes No. 2 
ahead, goes to cushion and lands very 
lightly on No. 1. 




PLATE 147 



178 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

But I illustrate the keynote shots. These mastered^ 
you wiU see yourself the point of others that vary but 
little from them. You may even invent a shot or so. 




B.— 

ing too far to the left. Cue ball lands 
full on No. 1 but on the right of center 
of No. 2 Ball. No. 1 ''squeezes^' in to 
the left of No. 2 and rushes it out. The 
normal rail shot regained, or nearly so. 



PLATE 148 

In the next chapter we will consider how to get ball 
No. 2 back, once it has crossed the five-inch line, which 
is the outer one of the two dotted lines shown in the 
plate. The 4f -inch line is the one ball No. 2 should 
travel, with perfect shots. 

Mentality Guiding the Shots, — In playing the normal 
rail shot (and, indeed, nearly all position shots) one 
must get into the habit of mentally guiding — for lack 
of a better term — the balls. Get the mental habit of 
seeing in your mind's eye the balls moving to certain 
positions. You see the very spots where you want the 
balls to stop, and you try to land them there. Mentally 
see them travel along their course to the f ore-intentioned 
resting places and you'll find this habit of enormous 
assistance in making the balls do your mental bidding. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

RECOYEEY OF POSITION WHEN THE OUTSIDE BALL 
GETS OVER THE FIVE-INCH LINE 

TT 7" ITH this chapter we close our examination of the 
^ » rail-nurse, considering how to recover the normal 
rail position when ball No. 2 gets over the five-inch line, 
and considering how to "turn the corner" in order to 
go on with the rail-nurse, playing down the adjacent 
side rail or coming back on the same rail in the other 
direction. The practice of this nurse will be to the 
average player not only full of interest — for it requires 
perfect tools, a first-class table, and fine billiard tech- 
nique — but it will be of immense value in the study of 
balk-line. It is, in fact, practically an absolute necessity 
to the mastery of line work. There is no other nursing 
practice for the average player so good as practice on 
the rail, so good for the cultivation of a nice sense of 
touch, that sub-conscious mastery of muscles that 
enables one to drive the ball just so far as desired. The 
game is full of niceties that give billiards its chief 
charm, and, as a matter of fact, it is harder for the 
average amateur to play straight rail up to its 'possibili- 
ties than it is in balk-line. 

In Plate 149 we show ball No. 2 part way over the 
five-inch line. Now, get this firmly in mind: When 

179 



180 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

No. 2 ball starts breaking away to the right, go 
after it at once. And the general plan is to get 
either a carom or a " kiss back " which will leave the cue 
ball to the right of No. 2 ball. Then the next shot, by 
hitting No. 2 as full as the position allows (on right of 
No. 2's center), will edge No. 2 back to the five-inch 
•line. But the first step, you see, is to get the cue ball 

A.— The '^ kiss-out'^ shot. Hit No. 1 full, 
with slight draw. No. 1 goes to cushion, 
comes back and *' kicks" cue ball over the 
five-inch line, cue ball JUST GEAZING No. 2. 
No. 1 Ball, after the kiss, joins No. 2 without 
knocking it away. 

B. — Hit No. 2 to right of center, driving 
1 to 1% inches. No. 2 Ball will then cross 
inside of the five-inch line. 

C— Hit No. 1 full. It cushions, ''kicks" 
cue ball and joins No. 2 in the normal rail 
position again. 





D. — The normal rail shot regained. 






PLATE 149 



TO THE RIGHT of No. 2; that is, well outside the five- 
inch line, generally as much as two inches. 

With this plate (No. 149) a position in which No. S 
was forced over the line by No. 1, the latter coming 
out from the cushion too strong, will be found direc- 
tions for the recovery of rail position, starting with 
the so-called "double-kiss" out, though in reality only 
one "kiss" occurs. 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 181 

Sometimes, if both balls get well out from the cushion, 
with No. 2 just over the five-inch line, a simple carom 
shot, with cue ball landing on right of center of No. 2, 
will put the balls in position for the " recovery shot " as 
shown in the position C on Plate 149. 

If the " kiss-out " is needed, there 's one thing to prac- 
tice and remember. If one ball is directly out from No. 1 
(which is near the cushion), use left English. If only 
slightly to the left of No. 1, use no English. If still 
a trifle more to the left of No. 1, use right English, in 
order that No. 1 may not advance too far. 



I 



CHAPTER XXVII 



" TUENING THE COENER " SHOTS 

PLATES 150, 151, and 15£ show three ways of 
"turning the corner," the object being to get the 
balls either on the next rail in normal rail position for a 

Top and left, like '' half -follow " shot. 
Cue ball going to cushion. Sometimes 
you simply kiss back from No. 1 to No. 
2, using right English to throw No. 1 
Ball around the corner. Resulting nor- 
mal rail position (on the other rail) 
shown by small figures. 




PLATE 150 




PLATE 151 



Thin on No. 1, full on No. 2. Result- 
ing normal rail position shown by small 
figures (headed in the other direction). 




PLATE 152 



No. 1 hit full (left English), cue ball 
following to left EDGE of No. 2. 
Dotted outline figures show new rail posi- 
tion on other rail. 

182 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 183 

continued rail-nurse, or to turn bach along the same rail, 
faced in the opposite direction from that in which you 
have been nursing them. 

There are various modifications of these, and one or 
two masse "turns," but get these in mind and others 
will become obvious to you without difficulty. 



I 



k 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

''EAIL-NimSE'^ PEINCIPLES APPLY TO THE <' BALK- 
LINE'' NUESE 

WjE WILL consider now simply the balk-line nurse, 
which will be found to contain little really new 
to one who has learned the rail-nurse well. It is the rail- 
nurse at longer range. And as the balk-line is 18 inches 
from the rail, it requires higher exactness for perfect 
execution, with much less opportunity for the recovery 
of the normal "line" position after a mistake. 

First, in Plate 153, we see the balls (Positions No. 1, 
No. 2, and No. 3) in position where by driving No. 1 
to the cushion it can be made to rejoin No. 2 and leave 
the cue ball in position for some soft caroms. The 
important point to consider here is the angle A-B. 

In Position No. 1 use right English and draw softly 
to center (as you face No. 2, not to center on the long 
rail). 

In Position No. 2 use no English and draw as before. 

In Position No. 3 use left English and draw to 
"throw" object ball (No. 1) to the right, to join No. 2. 

Bear in mind in judging just what point you wish to 
bring the object ball back to that the second object hall 
will naturally he moved to the right a trifle on making 
of the count by the cue ball. 

184 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



185 



Another thing that lends perfection to the execution 
of this shot is this: While hitting object ball No. 1 hard 
enough to bring it back near the others it is far better 
to hit it only just hard enough to bring it back to them. 



~1 /^ H /^ s^ 

#1 Ui ail 



ox> 






/ / I 



'r 



■' 3, Left 

PLATE 153 



Dotted line A-B shows varying angle toward cushion that cue ball 
takes. The angle is the real difference in positions 1, 2 and 3. 



hut not to kiss them hard, and especially — VERY IM- 
PORTANT! — not to kiss object ball No. 2 away. 

A kiss on the cue ball may not harm if full in center, 
but if the kiss is not in the center or very near it, or if 
the object ball comes back too swiftly, it will break up 
the position. This is just as in the rail-nurse, No. 1 



186 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

ball must not come out so fast as to kiss No. 2 across 
the five-inch line. 

The drive in-and-out from the cushion is the keynote 
of the balk-line nurse, for one will not easily miss the 
soft caroms which come in between the drives in and out 
from the rail. The important shot to make perfectly 
is the drive shot, and it is, therefore, important, in mak- 
ing the soft caroms, to so make them that the drive shot 
shall be direct and easy, instead of at an angle, when 
English will be needed to correct the come-back angle. 

The point about not bringing the driven ball back 
too rapidly is very important. In this one thing lies 
the difference between the modern way of playing the 
line-nurse and the old way. Formerly it was the practice 
to play for the kiss between the object ball No. 1 and 
the cue ball on the return. But the best players nowa- 
days do not play for the " kiss-and-stop " except when 
THE "kiss-back" IS PERFECTLY STRAIGHT (or nearly 
so) or when object ball is a wee bit too far to the left 
to be in the perfect position for the drive in and out. 

If the object ball, coming back from the cushion, only 
just gets to the others, there is much more leeway for 
error in its stopping point (as to right-ness or left-ness 
as you face it on the come-back). A variation of nearly 
three inches may occur with the balls still left so that on 
the next drive in and out you can retain control. 

First get this " drive in-and-out " shot well practiced, 
so that you can properly guide the object ball to right 
or left with changing English and bring it back just 
far enough, and not too far, so as to kick the others 
away. Then take up the next diagrams. 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



187 




PLATE 154 



A. — The pure balk-line nurse position. Here the first 
thing to do is to make one, two, or even three or four, 
soft caroms to get the balls 
in the second position. 

B. — In this second position 
the leave may not be perfect. 
It may vary in an angle to 
the cushion, as shown in Plate 
153, and when you drive Ball 
No. 1 to the cushion, varying 
English may be required to 
bring the ball back to the 
point required, as previously explained. 

C. — But supposing you have executed the " drive-in- 
and-out " perfectly, the balls are now on the line again, 
ready for some more soft caroms, preparatory to another 
drive in-and-out, and so on ad infinitum. 

Ball No. 2 must always be kept outside of the balk- 
line. Then the balls are " out of balk," and can be 
manoeuvered with the line-nurse so long as you are able 
to execute it. 

Sometimes the two will separate, or the cue ball will 
get too far ahead of No. 1 (to its right), so that the 
proper plan will then be to "slip through" No. 1 and 
No. 2, and then play the line-nurse, driving to the other 
cushion. Sometimes by use of the "edge-nurse" (pass- 
ing back and forth across the face of the two object 
balls, just grazing them) they may be coaxed back into 
the line-nurse position. But for these various forms of 
close manipulation we will refer to the later chapter de- 
voted exclusively to "close manipulation." But the 



I 



188 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

things learned in " recovery of rail position from faulty 
leaves " will also be of help in recovery of line positions 
from faulty strokes. 



CHAPTER XXIX 

''TURNINQ BACK" WITH THE LINE NUESE 

TF THE balk-line nurse position be attained in the 
■*• "short table," play it as long as you can hold the 
balls in that position. If it be attained above the cross- 
table balk-line, but somewhere near it, and you are 
working with it down the table (" facing the open sea"), 
it is generally wiser to "turn the balls" and by the 
" going-through " shot to head toward the end rails 
again and work toward the short table, still retaining the 
line position by this manoeuver. Now, when the balls 
begin to act badly, as they are certain to do sooner or 
later, you will be in a part of the table where there are 
many ways to retain control. 

The way to handle this "turning around" is by the 
"slip-through" shot, shown in Plate 155. 

In this plate the balls are shown well apart, to make 
the tactics clear. In actual play one should keep them 
as close together as possible, and move them as little as 
possible, only fractions of inches. 

First you hit the ball nearest the side rail a wee bit 
fuller than the other, shooting very softly. In all soft 
nursing it aids to soften the contact of cue ball with 
object ball to hit it below center. Some also hold that 
it is of assistance to this same end to grip the cue firmer. 

189 



190 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



This is probably, however, a case of the personal equa- 
tion. 

By hitting the inside ball a bit fuller you edge it down 

beyond 



i 



/-N Liitf -nurse" facing 
^ the oi?ier tray. 



I 



y 



H 



table beyond the 
other. One or two of 
these preparatory 
shots and the balls 
open up a bit so you 
can slip through. 
That leaves you with 
the line position still, 
but you are now 
headed the other way, 
toward the short table 
again. The possibil- 
ity of the same tac- 
tics often arises in 
other places, and in 
straight rail. The 
slip-through shot is 
of wide and valuable 
use. 

Some of the finest 
players do not let the 
balls, when working 
along the line, get so far from the end rail as the spot, 
but slip through and turn back at about the cross-table 
balk -line or not far below. I believe thoroughly in these 
tactics. It is around here that the nearby cushions offer 
favoring angles for cushion drives, once the balls begin 
to act badly. The same position that in mid-table would 



4- Position, 
r/ie "3lip-CArou$/r 



d^ Fosition 



2'^ Position 



^(«P r-^ Position- ffitPed 
^^/ full to puih it ahead. 

V Turning around m'tJi 
\ the line nurse. The 
\p2an is to farce inside \^ 
2>aII aijead^ ^e/ore^oin/ 
throu$h. 

PLATE 155 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 191 

be very had may, near the end rails, offer no difficulty 
whatever. 

This is particularly true of masse-shot leaves. Mid- 
table masse shots are always dangerous, on account of the 
long reach required. I consider positions near the end rails 
fully 100 per cent more advantageous than even the best 
positions in mid-table, and always figure to get back to 
the end rails at once. With even first-class players 
no mistake of judgment is so common as sticking too 
long to mid-table nurses, without turning back, unless 
it be the sin of driving two balls. 



I 



CHAPTER XXX 

GETTING ''THE LINE'^ FEOM CEETAIN FEEQUENT 
LEAVES 

TN BALK-LINE billiards the line position is always 
•■- highly desirable, though whether the most desirable 
may be a question, depending upon the player's individ- 
ual abilities and personal liking. With Schaefer and 
Ives the "anchor" (before it was barred) was the posi- 
tion most sought. The " chuck-nurse," in my opinion, is 
an especially desirable position if at that balk-line con- 
tact point where the reach is not bad and the play is' 
right-handed for a right-handed player. In 18.1 it is 
particularly valuable, though in that form of billiards 
difficult to get. In 18.2, having a preparatory shot 
allowed. in balk, it is much easier to get, and just as re- 
munerative when attained. Always keep it in mind when- 
ever the two balls are close together near the "contact 
points," i. e., where the long balk-lines meet the end rails 
W. A. Spinks, in practice, has made 1,010 at it, and 
some of these days I expect to see some professional 
make a very long run in competition. It is always good 
for a collection of easy points, and when it breaks up the 
balls are still in control. In playing it, however, the 
arm soon tires, which does not happen with the anchor, 
the line or the rail nurses, yet it is an infinitely easier 
nurse to play for a while than the anchor. 

192 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



193 



It is difficult to know where to begin, so many are the 
cases in point. We will examine some of them, and, with 
these learned, the student will see more himself. I see 
new ones almost every day, so infinite in variety is 
billiards. 

Let us first consider some of the more obvious cases — 
where the balls may be put into the line position in one 
shot, as in Plate 156. Diagram A shows a follow shot. 




PLATE 156 



Hit ball No. 1 three-quarters to seven-eighths full, land 
on No. 2 slightly above (to left) of center. Slow follow. 

Diagram B, a " dead-ball " shot. The danger here is 
that you will not hit the 'first hall full enough, and then 
land too hard on No. 2, knocking it away, or not " block- 
ing." If you do not "block," ball No. 1, if hit even a 
wee bit too hard, will slip through the opening between 
cue ball and No. % and be lost. 

A series of plates follow. The lettering on each 
plate tells the story in each case sufficiently well. 



194 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 





PLATE 157 




PLATE 158 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



195 




PLATE 159 



HP 




n 






A~ 




1 


a oV 


11 


// 


^/fere tAe an$Ie of dr/ye d/id dravr is such t/iat 
tAe I?ed m'/I go too far to the rJ$J2t. 3ut J>y 
landing on inner ed^e 0/ lY^ite, and passing 
doivn tal>ie a J>it, the cueMJI wi// J?JocIc ffed 
and hold it. Arroir j/iotrs irhere JPed Jcisses 








Cue-l>cii2 cLnd-ii Jie/d. instead l>e/nj lost. 








1 



PLATE 160 



196 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 161 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



197 



I 







1 




tf* 








\ 


"Spring-out" shot. Cue-l>aII. top, reverse e/i^/is77. 
Force almost twee as ^reat as /or p/ain 
cushion carom 3aI2s deaden on cushion l>y 
the reverse /c'ed spr/n^s out around tAe corner. 














1 



PLATE 162 







•!3 ^ S- IS 5 I fe 




1 


- 








Sv 






1 




^^ 




"^ ,_ai#^^^ 


iii 



PLATE 163 



198' 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 164 




PLA.TB 165 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



li>9 




PLATE 166 




PLATE 167 



200 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 168 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



201 




PLATE 169 



202 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 170 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



203 




PI ATE 171 



204 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 172 



DALrS BILLIARD BOOK 



205 



Getting the Line in Two Shots. — The diagrams (172 
to 175) alone will tell most of the story here. Bear this 
in mind: learn to recognize at a glance these familiar 
positions from which a good chance to get the line or 
near it in one shot is possible. Then other positions will 
be noticed where the first shot may be made to put the 
balls in one of these familiar positions which you know 




PLATE 173 

as " line positions in one shot." Thus you come to know 
which are "line positions in two." Some of the more 
obvious and frequent ones are given in diagram. 

Getting the Line in Three Shots. — Getting the line in 
three or more shots is generally a matter of manipulating 
the balls when they are already somewhere near the lines 
and under control. One of the most useful shots to 
know of this variety is shown in Plate 176, where the 
two object balls are side by side or nearly so and the cue 
ball near enough so that a very slow shot will not roll off. 



206 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 174 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



207 




PLATE 175 



\ 

208 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

The important point is the very first shot. It must 
be not too hard, nor yet too soft. The first object 
ball should move forward generally about two inches, 
not more than three, as a rule. This will depend 
a bit on just how the balls face you on the first shot. 
The object of the first shot is to push No. 1 ball ahead 



U.* 



^ 



u- 



l^SM.J^ja.A. You w/sJ] (0 face r/jAf end. /O't /Fed first, 
mov/n^ it 2 ta 2i /i?cAes^ touching JVfiite S(;/t/y; JedvJn^ t^in sAot.. 
2^3Iiot,DJa.3. Thin shot. leannj dravr far tfie /ine. 
3''-^3hot, Hia. C J5a//j fdcint? rJjht encf. dravrfor the /ine 

PLATE 176 

a bit and leave "the thin shot" for the second, enabling 
you to land on the second ball just where you need to 
get a draw and gather for the line. 

This shot is useful in a great many other places, as 
well as in getting the line. 

Now, notice in this situation you may choose which 
way of the table you wish the balls to face after the two 
shots are completed. If you wish to face the right, shoot 
on the le^t ball, first shot. And if you wish to face the 
lep, shoot on the right ball first shot. 

In Plate 177 the balls are shown astride the line, fac- 
ing the side rail, and in position for the soft "edge- 



A \\B 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



209 




PLATE 177 



210 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

nurse." The dotted lines show the successive positions 
of the two object balls as you pass across the face of 
the two with the " edge-nurse." 

NOTE CAREFULLY: When they have been gotten i 
near the rail, but not till then, by hitting ball No. 2 (on 
the right) a shade harder than No. 1 you work it along 
faster. You can then " slip through," leaving an easy» 
draw for the line-nurse position. 

As a general practice, whenever the balls are well setf 
for the edge-nurse use it at once for as many as you can 
get out of it. They are the cheapest points you can find. 

The " getting-the-line " scheme outlined above can be 
worked at any of the eight places where the balk-lines: 
go to the rails. 



CHAPTER XXXI 

GETTING ''THE RAIL-NUESE" POSITION 

TT WOULD be an endless task to illustrate all the 
-■• possible ways of getting the " rail." In the old days, 
when the experts 
played it, it was 
almost a sure 
thing that once the 
balls were well in 
the short table the 
player would have 
them " railed " in 
at most half a 
dozen shots. But 
a few examples 
will give a helpful 
notion of some of 
the more impor- 
tant position plays 
to "get the rail." 
The diagrams 178 to 186, inclusive, will need no ex- 
planatory text. 

On plate 179 the three succeeding positions, as drawn, 
are widely separated on the table. In actual play the 
balls move very, very little. But to draw the succeed- 
ing positions close together, would not result in clear- 
ness. The balls remain at the same place on the rail all 
during the " loosening " process. Then on resuming 
the rail-nurse they work along slightly with succeeding 
shots. 

211 




PLATE 178 



r 



212 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 179 

Distances between positions exaggerated to show the prin- 
ciple. The balls remain in practically one place on the rail. 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



213 




PLATE 180 




PLATE 181 



214 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 182 





|s ■ ■ 


Sf ^ 


to 


1 






•«C;^ 




li 








^ 




1 


^1 


■ill 


!■:; 




1 




3 r^ 






1 


^^^^ 


^S& 




i 



PLATE 183 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



215 



■WAere hss occurs 



/Fed ^oes to rail, comes Mclr and Irisses Cue-l>d!I 
after the count, leav/n^ Tfed near t/ie li^/iite. 
T/iJs js the most frequent shot ar/s/nj. and js/?/d/ed 
ff/ien jTed is far forirard malr/'n^ it a dravr. 2>acJr 
xnalcin^ it a /o/Jatr. or scuare. n7aA-/nJ it a dead-^all 
sAot. TJie '3/0 cA' and Av'ss" is ifie im/?ortant point. 



PLATE 184 




PLATE 185 



216 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



DravK to cusJ22on, coming out a 
/fit a/ter t/je count to 2?e on t/^e 
"outside^ and not lined up. 
If'ed foins WMite in rail position. 



iwj ^i/gt u/oj[/ 

^i/^ J'^^/P Jf^^^ 11^(1' ^nj 
sBs^rjfp^^ * polls' iis>(fp5^([ 



s 



PLATE 186 



CHAPTER XXXII 

GOOD POSITION SHOTS FKOM BAD LEAVES 

THERE are many positions in modern billiards that 
in the old days were regarded as, if not " safe " 
leaves, at least pretty nearly safe so far as getting a 
position as well as the count was concerned. Many of 
these today are played not only for the count, but for 
a resulting good position as well. Some of them are 
difficult to show in diagram, but a few of the more useful 
ones we may explain. 

See Plate 187. The red ball is shown in three posi- 
tions, a, b, and c. At position A you hit your cue ball 
"top" and left English. The left English will make 
the object ball "spring out" and go toward the second 
object ball in the comer, and the balls will gather. 

In the earlier days it was customary to play this shot 
hard, so as to leave the balls safe if the count was not 
made. Now we play just hard enough to gather the 
balls. For nowadays safety play (except in certain 
cases, generally depending upon the state of the score) 
is regarded by fine players as poor tactics. They figure 
that except with uncommonly bad leaves there is better 
than an even chance to count. And speed on your party 
not safety play, must be depended upon for victory. 
Jacob Schaefer was the first to utterly discard safety 
play as a standard tactic, and Ives, George Sutton, 
Ora Morningstar, Willie Hoppe following his footsteps 

217 



218 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

in this regard, the tactic has fallen into general dis- 
repute, much to the betterment of the game. Speed 
is depended upon for winning. A couple of good runs 
and one may "put the game on ice." 

In position B of the same plate (No. 187) you hit 
cue ball center, or the least trifle below. In position C 
you make a draw shot of it. In each case the first object 
ball (on the rail) comes over to the corner. Practice 
will teach you the various modifications of this shot, and 
the principle of springing the ball on the rail along to 
a desired position comes up in a great many places, 
particularly in close work along the rail and near the 
comers. 

Plate 188 shows two frequent shots. The diagrams 
explain them sufficiently without additional text here. 

In Plate 189 we have a "Hoppe" shot. Hitting the 
red full enough, you follow to the comer, catching 
the white. The red goes across the table and to the 
corner again for the gather. 

In Plate 190 the follow shot is the one you are in- 
clined, first off, to make. But it loses the balls. Drive 
the red around. Use reverse English on the cue ball to 
deaden it on the cushion, landing easily on the white for 
a gather. 

The next series of plates (191 to 195) are of related 
shots. Similar ideas are in all of them. The lettering 
on the plates is sufficient explanation. 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



219 




PLATE 187 





PMCl/S- ^£^(J p^^ u/o^/ Y^^<T 



Cue-MlJ top and le/t en^/ZsA. 
rorce Jiard e/2ou^A to 7na/;e WJiife 
sprj'nj put. JF^d ^oes' ta sj'de raz'2 
and I>aclc catcAzn^ cue-2>a7I. 
Ze/t e/2f//\sA Aa/ds cue-l>3ll ta 
ra// to catcA t^e Jr/ss. 



t 



a 



PLATE 188 



220 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 189 




PLATE 190 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



221 



The two plates 
(196 and 197) 

shown on page 226 
are not like the pre- 
ceding, but are well 
worth knowing. 
You, as in so many 
cases , knowing 
these, will see from 
them how to handle 
other similar ones. 
They show you a 
principle that is of 
value also in leaves that do not resemble these. Some 
of these shots are unknown to most amateurs, and even 
to most of the professionals, and they will serve to get 
you out of many a situation that at first looks hopeless. 




PLATE 191 



222 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 192 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



223 




PLATE 193 



224 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 194 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



225 




PLATE 195 



226 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 196 









52 - 

] m 

1 ^1^1 







PLAT£2 197 



CHAPTER XXXni 

'' GOING THEOUGH " AND OTHER USEFUL POINTS ON 
CLOSE MANIPULATION 

PLAYERS who can average, say, from four to seven 
have accomphshed the biggest part of bilhards. 
They know angles, can drive, draw, follow, masse, play 
cushion and "dead-ball" shots. All that is needed for 
a great increase in their speed is mastery of some minuter 
technique and the attainment of greater degree of con- 
trol of " speed " of shot. On the control of speed, in- 
deed, depends — well, it is difficult to say how much does 
depend upon that one thing. No position shot is good 
for much if the speed be much over-done or under-done. 

Greater control of speed and knowledge of the finer 
points of close manipulative technique will make these 4 
to 7 men good for averages of 15 or better. But it is just 
here that they fail. They do not know how to " manip- 
ulate." I do not mean that they cannot stroke softly. 

What " Manipulation " 7^. — Manipulation is the art 
of making both balls move exactly to certain desirable 
places, and necessary to it, as a precedent, is the knowl- 
edge of what the desirable points are. Delicacy alone 
is not manipulation, 

A study of the finer technique is the most interesting 
part of billiards, and, once grasped, will make any " five- 
man " a possible " fifteen-man." 

» 227 

i 



228 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

On " Going Through." — It is so often desirable, when 
the balls are close together, but facing the open table, or 
too far from the end rails, to "go through," and so 
needful is it that in so doing the balls be not "lost," 
that practice on this one thing is extremely desirable. 

Place the balls, for instance, as shown in Plate 198, 
frozen or very close together. They are too far up the 
table and you wish to go through them and come back. 

The danger point is on the very first shot of this go- 
ing-through process. The balls must be hit so softly 
that, while not leaving the cue ball frozen to either object 
ball, the object balls, nevertheless, after the first shot, 
are not to exceed about 2f inches (the diameter of a 
ball) apart. Have that distance in mind as the extent 
of separation that will exist when the actual ^^going- 
through " shot is made, and work the separation slowly 
up to that distance. 

Generally this is best attained by hitting one object 
ball fuller than the other in making the soft shots and 
landing " dead " on the second ball, and stopping very 
near it. Then nearly all the motion is imparted to one 
ball, and is more easily calculated and controlled. 

When the actual shot to go through is made the cue 
ball just barely grazes and hardly moves at least one of 
the object balls, and perhaps both are just grazed, and 
they are left still very close together. 

Be Sure to Get Past. — But, in going through, the cue 
ball must go far enough to get past the center of the 
object ball, that is, " above it," so that both object balls are 
toward the end rail or corners nearest you. Don't leave 
the cue ball in the middle (the dotted outline shown in 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



229 



Diagram B of Plate 198) or you will be forced to make 
a masse shot or go to the cushion, with the greatest 
danger of loss of control. 

Sometimes it is desirable to get past the balls, so as to 
have cue ball out in 
the open-table side of 
them and then work 
them back toward the 
end or a corner. You 
may be too far away to 
" go through " first mak- 
ing a very soft carom, 
but you can " go past." 

Plate 199 shows how 
to do it. This position 
has variations in table 
position, in distance 
I apart, etc., etc. But the 
possibility of this kind 
of a shot often arises. 
It is also often used to 
avoid lining the balls up, 
as shown elsewhere. 

Here, too, is another 
point that the first-class 
j player bears in mind in 
I close work, and particu- 
larly in working along 
ithe line. 

English on the cue ball affects the object ball, not 
\only on the cushion, but also on its course to the cushion. 




PLATE 198 

The distance that the balls travel 
is exaggerated to make the principle 
plain. They actually move only the 
minutest fraction of an inch. 



230 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



For instance, place the balls as shown in Plate 200. 
A shows (in exaggerated form, to make the point clear) 
the effect of English on the object ball. Some say it is 
the cue ball that swerves. I won't quarrel about that. 
The point is that you may, by shifting English, force 
the object ball to sidle about at will, with the result fliat 
you get it just where you want it for the next shot. 

In B is shown a posi- 
tion when working on 
the line. This diagram 
and diagram C ishow 
the opposite effect of 
opposite English, one 
leaving the balls per- 
fect for the drive, the 
other losing the posi- 
tion for the drive to the 
cushion. j 

This serves to make 
the point. The appli- 
cation comes in numer- 
ous forms whenever 
you have close-nursing 
manipulation on hand. 
Now, right here, 
having shown how th^ 
English swerves the ob- 
PLATE 199 ject ball in soft shots, 

is the place to point out where most amateurs, and, indeed, 
some professionals, fail in getting the best results out of 
the balk-line nurse. 




DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



231 




PLATE 200 



232 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

In playing this nurse you must put a high value 
ON EVERY INCH of distance. Avoid sending the first 
object ball too far from the line when preparing to drive 
it to the cushion and back. 

If the object ball, of this drive, is over two inches 
from the cue ball, it is a distinct dram shot. If it is 
inside the two-inch distance, it is almost a dead-ball shot, 
or a very slight draw. Some call it a "concussion 
shot;" that is, the natural elasticity of the ivory on 
concussion alone is all that is needed to make the cue ball 
come back for a very short distance. And you do not 
have to hit the cue ball low enough to risk a miscue. 

Again, as you do not have to make the cue ball travel] 
far, you can the more easily make it land perfectly. 

First Step. — So, then, bear in mind the effect of] 
English in swerving the first object ball to the proper | 
place so that the drive and draw is straight instead of 
at an angle. For that "drive and draw" shot, in its- 
control, is the keystone shot of the line-nurse. On its 
perfection depends the continuation of the perfect line 
position. There is not much danger of the player miss- 
ing the soft carom shots, but there is great danger of 
his making the drive and draw badly. 

Second Step. — In making your shots preparatory to 
getting the drive-and-draw position bear in mind where 
you want the three balls to stand when making the draw. 

See Plate 201. Diagram 1 shows a series of positions 
you do not want. The lettering in each diagram tells 
what is bad about the position. At the end is the posi' 
tion you do want when making the "drive-and-draw." 
Note well the right-angled-triangle situation. 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



233 




PLATE 201 



234 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



See, also, Plate 202 for positions you do not want to 
result from the *' drive-and-draw '' and how they hap- 
pened. The last one of the series shows the position you 
do want to result from the " drive-and-draw." 

Third Step. — Now, nothing is more important in 
making the " drive-and-draw " than this : 

DO NOT DEPEND TOO MUCH UPON THE 
CUE BALL BLOCKING THE RETURNING OB- 



Eed too 
to left 



leave. 



far 



Fed hit too 
hard, jciised 
white away. 



Cue-iall 
came back 
too far. 



fdikd to block. 
Cuel?al] hit white 
too hard, leaving 
onenin^ for red. 



oo 



o. 



o 



■0% 






Perfect, 
Balls in a 
regular irian^e 









Bad 



Positions left after Drive 
and Draw Js made. 



PLATE 202 

JECT BALL PERFECTLY. Therefore, do not hit the 
object ball on the "drive-and-draw" shot any harder 
than ENOUGH TO JUST GET IT BACK to place. 
A very slight kiss will do no damage. A kiss perfectly 
in the middle of the cue ball will not hurt. BUT THAT 
IS TOO SMALL A MARK to depend on hitting it 
perfectly, and having the driven object come back 
swiftly enough to wreck things, if the exact center be 
not hit, is bad. 

If it comes back slowly, just barely getting to the line. 



11 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



235 



it may have a side-to-side variation of from 2^ to even 
S inches and still leave you in control for a continuation 
of the line-nurse. 

To George Sutton must be given credit for perfecting 
this method of playing the line-nurse. In the old days 
we used to trust, almost entirely, to the kiss to stop 
the returning object ball. Now we play also to get 
the speed just right. 

On ''Blocking.'' — 
As a rule, on drives 
to the cushion, try 
whenever possible to 
"block." That is, leave 
the cue ball and second 
object ball right to- 
gether, so that when 
the first object ball re- 
turns it HAS THE 
WIDTH OF TWO 
BALLS IN ITS 
PATH, instead of one; 
that is, nearly 5 inches 
of ivory instead of 2^. 
It is, in fact, more than 
that; it is 7^ inches, 
for the returning ball 
has to be considered, 

too. P^^"^^ 203 

To work this properly, sometimes the first shot must 
be so made that the "block" is possible on the second 
shot. 



1 






\ 


1 




'i 


ii^ 


II 




'^n 


^^==^ 


II 




-'11 
II 


vf/^/ Way. 


i 




II 


First shot 


1 




II 


leaves cue-Ml 








close toMZ 
in position 
to hioc^^ed 
when driven 
to cushion. 


-po/^ 0} 








^jiwp ou 








^mpj/'^p^ui 








X/J^dojdiui 








J0q9 JfPMJ 








/% 0UOJ/^ 


/-s 


., 




.^ 


ip 

\ 






^^^^^^ 


).^, 




, 



236 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



Plate 203 shows an example. In A the first shot is 
properly made. In B no " blocking " possibility is left, 
because the first shot was improperly made, the cue ball 

knocking the second 
object ball too far 
away. 

Plate 204 shows a 
longer drive, with the 
same point of "block- 
ing " brought out. 

More on Close Ma- 
nipulation, — Plate 205 
shows a position in 
which the required shot 
will be found valuable 
not only here, but in 
many other places on 
the table. The point 
is to make a soft shot, 
letting the cue ball 
count, but stay back of 
carom ball, so as to 

leave "the thin shot" 

PLATE 204 for the next. For in 

making the thin shot in close billiards one may manip- 
ulate the balls in many ways and land on the object 
ball where he will. 

Now, here is an important point about this leave. 
(Plate 205.) Sometimes the original position is such 
that the first shot may be made on either ball. If you wish 
the ultimate line position resulting from this preliminary 




DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



237 











^'^ ^ 5!>.S 






^ 






PLATE 205 



Position No. 2 shows the balls as they lay after No. 1 ; No. 3 shows 
position after No. 2, etc., etc. The balls move very little, distances be- 
ing exaggerated in the drawing. 



238 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

manipulation, to face the corner on your left play on the 
right object ball first, and vice versa, [Note. — In Plate 
205, position No. 2 shows balls in position resulting 
from shot at position No. 1, and so on.] 

Stay Near the Ends of the Table, — This shot is one 
that is valuable not only near the line, but anywhere on 
the table, for it will enable you to "turn" the balls 
toward a corner when you find yourself headed for the 
" open sea " of mid-table. 

A variation of this shot that is useful sometimes occurs 
when the balls lie as shown in Plate 206, the need being 
to get the balls out of balk. Drive ball No. 1 out, land- 
ing so softly on No. 2 as to leave "the thin shot." On 
the next land on ball No. 1 so as to leave a draw for 
position. 

Concemi/ng the '^Thin Shot" — I have spoken often 
about the " thin shot," meaning, of course, with the balls 
close together, a chance to touch the edge of the first 
ball, landing on the second ball just where you want to. 
And that is the reason of its value. (See Plate 207.) 
You may want to land for a draw; you may want to 
land for another thin shot (the "edge-nurse") or for 
a " going-through " shot. You may do as you will. The 
long, thin shot is not desirable, and a very long one is 
bad. 

In all close work, especially near the cushions, the 
thin shot is valuable and always to be kept in mind, to 
work the balls so that it may be left up. 

Another point: in some cases you have the choice of 
landing full on the second ball and then draw, or to land 
to leave the thin shot, make it, and then draw. Don't 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



239 




PLATE 206 



240 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

you see that that is just one extra coimt from the given 
leave? The sum of these extra counts in a close match 
may be the difference between victory and defeat. It 
is always a percentage in your favor. 

In " going through," if you take four or five in doing 
it and the other fellow gets through in three shots, you 
have two shots the best of it, a goodly percentage in 
your favor, for the going through-shot is likely to 
happen many times in the course of a game. In big 
championships, 500 points, it might well come up ten or 
fifteen times. Two or three extra points each time are 
not to be sneezed at. 

This was one of Frank Ives' percentages over most 
other players. I have seen him take seven or eight shots 
to get through, and even Schaefer rarely took over five.j 
And this point of getting extra points before driving! 
("don't drive until you have to") applies not only to 
the "going-through" shot, but to soft shots along the 
rail, with balls astride the line, the player preparing to 
drive one to the cushion and back. And again to the 
line position itself. Each time you manipulate the balls 
preparing for the " drive-and-draw " there's a chance to 
pick up an extra point or two by careful work. 

Plate 207 shows a position where landing thin not 
only gives you the extra point, but gives you a better 
chance of saving control in making the second shot, for 
you may land on the second ball full or thin, as you 
choose. 

Elevated Cue Butt. — In connection with this point of 
close manipulation, where it is desired that the object 
balls be moved very slightly, I may call attention to a 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



241 



Lcind thin, not disturbing 
the White, and you ^et a. 
thin shot 2fe/cre driving, 
which IS an extra point gained. 



A frequent sample position 
for ^ettin^ the thin shot. 
Land on ed^e of 2nd J> all 
instead of fuIJ; then on next 
land thin or full, as Jooh iest 



PLATE 207 



242 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

matter of technique that is helpful and therefore 
important. 

Take the " edge "-nurse, for instance; the object balls 
side by side, the cue ball passing across their face. In 
making this stroke elevate the butt of your cue a bit, so 
that the shot has a touch of "drag." The cue ball 
starts with speed enough to prevent its rolling off. Then 
the " drag " takes effect and the ball slows up quickly. 

No ivory ball was ever exactly perfect for more than 
a very brief time, even minutes serving to expand or con- 




PLATE 208 

Elevating butt of cue to get drag on the cue ball in soft close shots 

tract it in varying temperatures. And in this close work 
the deflection of the sixty-fourth part of an inch in the 
course of the ball makes the difference between a perfect 
shot and a poor one. 

Another thing that will help in this soft " edging " is 
a firmer grip on the butt of the cue. The cue ball gets 
more action from a loose grip and less from a tight grip. 

Plate 208 shows cue position in making these soft 
shots. The French players have developed this point 



I 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 243 

more of late than the Americans, and have made it of 
great value in nursing. But it takes practice, for the 
"feel" is different. 

The same elevation of cue butt is also useful in short 
and medium draw shots. It is perfect for the little 
" nip " draw used in the line-nurse. In this the Frencli 
players also favor the tighter grip, as giving a deader 
ball and better control of force than the loose grip. It 
is with this little "nip" stroke that George Sutton at 
his best (as, for instance, when he beat Willie Hoppe and 
averaged an even 100) showed his mastery of the line- 
nurse. The shot, when delivered, feels something like a 
" near-masse." You can get quick draw action while 
hitting the cue ball high enough so that miscues need not 
worry you. Willie Hoppe's "dig," as George Slosson 
terms it, is a perfect example of this style of stroke. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

USEFUL POINTS ON CERTAIN FEEQUENT LEAVES 

CLOSELY related to what I have just said on close 
manipulation come some points bearing on the best 
method of making certain shots that frequently arise, 
yet have unusual features. The point is not only to get 
the count, but to get it in the best way either to avoid 
a tie-up or to slip in one additional point over the usual 
and more obvious method of play. 

Sometimes the thing is to "block" the object ball on 
its return from the cushion after a drive. This almost 
always is attained by landing dead on the second ball. 
Sometimes the point is landing on the best spot. 

Notice the leave in Diagram B in Plate 209. In mak- 
ing the shot try to have the count completed before 
the first ball gets bach from the cushion, so that when 
it kisses the cue ball the latter will not be knocked 
against the second ball and spoil the leave. Also, try 
to land on the second ball on the edge nearest you. 

In Diagram A, Plate 209, you try to land as thin as 
possible on the edge nearest you, playing almost as 
though you were trying to get too much draw and miss 
the shot. 

When both balls are so placed as to be under control, 
but near the center of the end rail (that is, far from the 

244 



I 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



245 



Complete the count 
I>efore Ked ^ets^ iack, 
so that the kiss mil 
not knock Cue-iall 
against the White 
and ^poil the leave. 



-pu^ M^Up /O AfU9[J 



Z//J7 sz? dfii{J^ i^o •pu-D'j 



> 



PLATE 209 



246 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



line), it is often best to get them near the line on the 
very -first shot. See Plate 210. 

On the second shot you can land softly and retain 

control. If you wait 
till the second shot to 
put them over the line 
(having made the first 
shot softly), you are 
likely to hit them too 
hard in order to be sure 
to get over, and have 
an awkward, bad-an- 
gled shot for the next. 
When they are both 
in the middle section at 
the end of the table 
work them toward the 
line that is nearest. 

Whenever the balls 
are close to the comer, 
in 18.2 balk-line, he 
sure to get one near the 
line on the first shot. 
PLATE 210 Plate 211 shows four 

such positions. They arise in great variety. Bad tie- 
ups will often result from failure to get the balls near 
the line on the first shot, waiting, instead, until the 
second, yet beginners at balk-line almost invariably over- 
look the point. I know of no more frequent error, and 
I have observed players in amateur championships do 
this with disastrous results. 




i 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



247 



^ 


U 

// 


A- 




■fe 








^ 
^ 












^ 












^1^ 
























where 
line on 






























1 




o 


/ 


"Ui 






^m€)' 



PLATE 211 



1 



248 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



On all follow shots down the table try to avoid line- 
ups. Two such shots are shown in Plate 212. 





'Two Follow Shots > 
To avoid et'line-up'/Jfe sure 
to ^et JPed J>ac/r far enough 




PLATE 212 




PLATE 213 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



249 



The effect of English on the second ball, if borne in 
mind, can be made useful often in getting the second 
ball "out" or "loosened" from the cushion without 
endangering control, which a bank shot is so likely to do. 

Plate 213 shows two examples of this. 

Frequently the kiss, either before or after the count, 
can be made to hold the balls in place, this being better 
than to risk a bank shot. Plate 214 shows two examples. 




PLATE 214 



Plate 215 shows a close draw where a "nip" draw, if 
landed (not too thin) on the side of the second object 
ball nearest you, will be more likely to give the thin 
shot or easy cushion carom, instead of a drive or draw 
at a bad angle, or a shot that will face the balls up the 
table. 

In making short, easy cushion shots it is often of the 
greatest importance to land near the edge, instead of 
full, to avoid a tie-up. Plate 216 shows a common 
example. 



250 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 215 



I 






Ig^igf 



<. ^ 






PLATE 216 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



251 



Plate 217 shows the balls in a position where the ordi- 
nary draw is likely to line up the balls. Draw to the 




PLATE 217 



side of the second ball nearest the side rail. This shot, 
properly made, is likely to leave an easy drive and draw 
for the line position. 



\ 

CHAPTER XXXV 

ON THE VALUE OF THE INCH 

THE one thing that most distinctly marks the dif- 
ference between the fair player and the fine player 
is in the matter of valuation of the inches. I am con- 
stantly telling young players, "Don't give away the 




PLATE 218 
A good shot to practice to acquire control of speed. 

inches! ^^ Often they give away, needlessly, not only 
inches, but feet. 

The value of the " dead " ball is in saving the inches, 
and the dead-ball stroke in varying forms, both direct 
ball-to-ball and off the cushion, is the most distinguishing 

252 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



253 



feature of the expert's mastery. It is one of the finest 
shots in the game. 

In the notes on "Primary Position Play" I drew 
attention to the necessity of the 
soft shot when the two object 
balls are very close together, the 
cue ball moving them, on con- 
tact, only a fraction of an inch, 
instead of two or three inches. 
The same point arises in count- 
less forms, and a few in dia- 
^a CQ ^'|*§ gram will serve to impress it and 

^^'j^'*^^ ^ .^^, make it clearer. The first one is 

^ ^ ==» in the form of an ordinary gath- 

ering shot, in Plate 218. 

The good player, in all such 
cases, takes the greatest pains not 
only to make the shot, but to get 
the balls "under his hand," as 
we say. (See Plate 218.) The 
careless player aims to make the 
count and get the balls " some- 
where around." This is one of 
the grosser forms of " giving 
away the inches." It arises in all 
PLATE 219 drives for a gather. The finer 

forms come in close manipulation. In the balk-line 
nurse the value of the inch is of the greatest impor- 
tance, the difference of a quarter of an inch often mak- 
ing the difference between a good shot and a bad shot. 
In Chapter Sixteen, on " Close Manipulation," I have 




254 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



called attention to the value of the inch in the little shots 
preparatory to the " drive-and-draw " on the line. If the 
cue ball is within an inch or two of the object ball it is 
the easiest kind of a draw, with no chance for a miscue, 
and an easy chance to land perfectly and dead. If, how- 
ever, the cue ball is three inches from the driven object 
ball, the draw is long enough to endanger getting the 




PLATE 220 



exact amount of force, and, if too great, breaking u] 
the nurse ; or, in the effort not to get too great speed, oi 
digging too deeply on the cue ball and making a miscueJ 

Plate 219 shows another common shot. The point i^ 
to hit the first ball so thin that you just "graze th^ 
glisten " and let the English carry the cue ball along ti 
the carom ball, leaving an easy draw. 

The succeeding plates (220 to 222) are self-explan- 
atory. 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



255 




PLATE 221 





• ''"^ -— I'liai 


'^SOl [PJ^UO:) 


'fuojM 


I 




'p""' 


¥■> 






//itT^edfi 
then pJay 
dotted cue 


iI7, Mr^Iy /novJi?^ W/iite. 

tliin shot ds 5hoyvn J'y 

, and yau are facing J>dcJir 






1 




I 




PLATE 222 







CHAPTER XXXVI 



COMPAEATIVE THEOEY OF STRAIGHT RAIL, BALK-LINE 
AND CUSHION CAROMS 

IN STRAIGHT-RAIL billiards there is just one great 
nursing position to work for — the rail-nurse. You 
plan every shot with the idea of getting the balls ulti- 
mately to the corners or the end rail, close together. 
Anywhere along or inside of the five-inch line shown in 
our study diagrams of the line-nurse, and especially at 
the ends of the table, where the expert is almost certain 
to get the balls on the rail in a few shots. 

Plate 223 is a straight-rail map. The depth of the 
shading is greatest in those portions of the table where 
it is most advantageous to get the halls. Near the cor- 
ners the shading is heaviest, as there the nearness of botl 
rails gives more manipulative chances, not only to get] 
the balls on the rail, but also to regain control if theyj 
begin to get balky, as billiard balls have a way of doings 
The map as shown should not be so dark along th( 
middle of the side rails. That place is good only when] 
the balls are in line-nurse position, or under control ii 
some other way. 

It is only at the ends of the table that one has a good 
chance to stop balky balls from their antics. In mid- 
table the balls have all the best of it, 

Down the side rail is good in the rail-nurse so long as' 

256 




PLATE 22 3 

STRAIGHT RAIL. MAP 
Depth of shading- shows desirability of location for nurs- 
ing purposes. Best gathering points are near the corners. 
"Rail nurse" can be played all around the table when once 
the position is gained. 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



257 



the balls are acting well. But if, to correct an error, you 
have to drive to the cushion and back, your drive is long. 
At the end rails it is short. 

Now, in balk-line, as will be noted in the balk-line 
maps, further on, the choice positions are not close in 
the corners. They are, in fact, danger spots. Along 
the end balk-lines or along the end rails near the side 
balk-lines are the best positions. Hence, with a given 




PLATE 224 

leave, such as is shown in Plate 224, the best shot in 
I straight rail is one thing and in balk-line billiards is 
another. One might draw scores of diagrams to illus- 
trate this point. But a careful study of the difference 
! between the choice places on the straight-rail map and 
j on the balk-line maps will direct you in your choice of 
shots. Keep the balls headed toward the parts of the 
table shown in heaviest shade on the straight rail map. 
(Plate 223.) 

In balk-line, except for the possibilities, always to be 



258 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



kept in mind, of getting the "chuck" or "anchor" 
(the latter is now barred in championships), it is the 
best of tactics to heep going for the line. Keep the 
balls as near the lines as you can, so that when you have 
to cross them you do not have far to go and can save 
the inches. 

There are only two really good contact points for the 
" chuck "-nurse, where the reach is easy, and there are a 
great many places where the line-nurse is to be attained. 

Yet not all line positions are equally desirable. In 
general, the best positions, that is, the positions where, 
in case of the halls getting halky, you have more ways 
to turn, more opportunities for getting them undei 
perfect control again, are: 

First — The end rails, near the points where the tw< 
long balk-lines touch the end rails. I call these the 
"contact points." 

Second — The portions of the balk-lines from the 
cushion-contact point out to the intersection with the 
other lines. 

High Value of the End Rails. — I regard the point 
of keeping at the end rails as of the very highesi 
importance. This territory is worth 50 per cent mor€ 
than any other, and fully 100 per cent better than thai 
part of the table between the spots. Around the enc 
rails you have many lines of retreat and attack, many] 
ways to prevent the run being stopped. No great runs] 
were ever made anywhere else. BAD POSITIONS IN 
MID-TABLE ARE OFTEN GOOD POSITIONS AT] 
THE END RAILS. 




PLATE 221 



BALK LINE MAP (18.2) 

Darkest shaded places have the highest strategic value 

In position play. Note the value marks (approximate) = 
100, 75. and 50. 



i 

ill 

w 

'A 



IT 






PLATE 226 

BALK LINE MAP (18.1) 
Darkest shaded places have the highest strategic value 
in position play. Corners and side spaces are even more 
dangerous in 18.1 than in 18.2. Note the value marks (ap- 
proximate) =100. 75, and 50. 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 259 

To win billiard matches you must keep the other fellow 
sitting in his chair. 

Difference Between 18,2 and 18.1. — See Plates 225 
and 226, which are balk-line maps, worked out by the 
editor of this volume, something, so far as my billiard 
experience goes, entirely new as a means of putting 
position billiards strikingly before the eye. The first 
one is an 18.2 map. The next is an 18.1 map. In 18.1 
the corners are much more to be avoided than in 18.2, 
for in 18.2 you have the great advantage of a prepara- 
tory shot. The same thing applies to the long spaces 
down the side rails. There, in 18.1, you are in the very 
greatest danger of losing control, for you must get out 
of balk on the very first shot; so in 18.1 THE SIDE 
PANELS are VERY BAD. 

In fact, in 18.1 the side spaces are much worse than 
the mid-table space, for in the side spaces you must 
drive at once, and, if the balls are facing up-table, it 
is generally a nasty drive, with little or no position pos- 
sibility in it. 

In 18.2 the side spaces are a little better than the 
mid-table space, for you have the preparatory shot; 
next, you are nearer the cushion for cross-table work; 
and, lastly, the up-and-down table drives are likely to be 
helped by having the side rail near by to help guide the 
driven object ball back to a better place. 

In 18.1, too, the importance of keeping as near as 
possible to the balk-lines in all portions of the table 
is much greater, so as to have short shots to get across. 
But in all forms of balk-line one cannot repeat too often 
that the end rail positionsy and especially around the 



260 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

contact points and near the balk-lines, are, from all 
points of "view, the best. 

The end-rail contact points are fully 25 per cent 
more valuable than the side-rail contact points. 

To give the idea clearly I should rate the comparative 
strategic values (approximately) of the three best table- 
localities, as follows, in balk-line: 

1 — End-rail "contact points". . .. 100 (best possible) 

2 — Side-rail "contact points"... 75 (second best) 
S — Where lines intersect. ....... 50 (third choice) 



But in the 18.1 game the balk-line intersection points 
are favored by some players at a higher value. 

In the 18.1 map it will be noticed that the dangerous 
territory of the side-rail spaces comes up to the cross- 
table lines, and the corner spaces are bad to a distance 
farther from the exact corner than in 18.2, for, having 
to cross the line on the first shot, the distance may be 
enough to lose control, even though it be only eight or 
ten inches, while in 18.2 there is the preparatory in 
which to get one ball near a line. 

As good as the side-rail contact points are, there is 
"the open sea" of the mid-table on one side of them. 
On the end rails, when the need comes — and it always 
will come! — to drive or bank, it is the shortest drive or 
bank on the table, instead of the longest. On the end 
rail you may work either side of the balls, slipping 
through, if you wish, driving to either cushion, and in 
general have much the best of it. 

Avoid the long drive. You cannot tell about its last 
six inches. 



1 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 261 

Avoid the Mid-Table. — I am firmly of the belief that 
when you get the balls as far from the end rails as, say, 
between the cross-table balk-lines and the spot it is time 
to get them headed back on the first sign of their break- 
ing away from control. Do it either by going through 
or by playing for a draw position, or by any other 
means that look good; but do it! 

Do your best to keep away from the middle of the 
table, more even in 18.2 than in 18.1. There, when you 
have to make any shot, you have to make it perfectly, or 
have a dangerous leave, and no man living can keep on 
making perfect shots all the time. And when you have 
to make a mid-table recovery shot you have 50 per cent 
the worst of it at the start, no matter how well you can 
execute. 

How to Get Away from Mid-Table. — Generally, when 
in mid-table, the balls can best be sent to the end of the 
table by making first a preparatory shot for a succeed- 
ing draw up and down the table, driving the object ball 
up and back, and landing on the carom ball ^^ above. ^^ 
Be sure to get the driven ball back beyond the other or 
the shot fails its purpose. 

Of course, if the balls are in fine position for easy 
control and some cheap points, such as can be made on 
the "edge-nurse," of the line-nurse, or something as 
good, get the easy ones first. But in mid-table be on 
the lookout for signs of losing control. 

When loss of control in mid-table threatens, give the 
balls the benefit of the doubt and play to get back toward 
the end as soon as possible. 

Only recently I observed a man who has held profes- 



262 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



slonal championships stick to play in mid-table when the 
balls worked badly instead of working them back to the 
end, with the result that twice within a short time, the 
balls getting unruly, he was left to make a cushion shot 
or bank shot. He made the shots, but he lost control, 
and his runs were broken. In both of these instances the 
leaves he got would have been comparatively easy had 
they occurred at the ends instead of in the center of 
the table, 1 



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PLATE 227 

There are many ways of getting back to the end, 
depending upon the position of the balls, and the more 
obvious will readily occur to you. 

In Plate 227 we show the "shift shot," a series of 
plain caroms, not often more than two, by which the 
balls can be worked from mid-table toward the end 
rapidly. 

In Plates 228 and 229 we show leaves which in mid- 
table are dangerous. The SAME LEAVES, NEAR 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



263 




PLATE 228 



264 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 229 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



265 



THE END RAILS, ARE NOT DANGEROUS. One 

could make a great many such diagrams. 

Take my advice, Mr. Youthful Billiard Player, keep 
to the ends of the table. When away from there get 
hack as soon as you can without throwing away the very 
easy ones, where the balls are "under the hand." 

The Choice of Contact Points. — Many cases will arise 
where you have the choice of gathering the balls at the 
"contact points" (where the balk-lines touch the rails), 
either on the side rail or on the end rail, as you may 
prefer. ALWAYS CHOOSE THE END RAIL CON- 
TACT POINTS. Always, however, keep the cue ball 
with the object 
balls in getting to 
the contact points, 
thus avoiding 
drives or dangers 
of "roll-off" or 
line-up. Leaving 
the cue ball even 
a foot away from 
the object balls is 
likely to be a se- 
rious matter. 

Any opportu- ^^^'^^ 230 

nity that offers to get to the end rail, either by slipping 
through, or by easy masse, or by easy bank is worth 
while. 

Plate 230 shows a position where one shot (draw 
from the red) will prepare for gathering near the side 
rail line, the other for heading back to the end rail. 




266 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



The other shot — the one indicated in the plate — is 
the "sHp through," which will leave the balls headed 
toward the end rail contact points. Take that one! 

Plate S31 shows a position where you must choose 
between the end rail contact points. Here the draw is 
too long to hold the balls to the near contact point, 
so you draw and prepare to take them to the far con- 
tact point (b). 

Take the line of least resistance. That is, choose tlie 

shot you can make 
most surely. Pick 
the shot you can 
make with a good 
solid blow, instead 
of the one that re- 
quires too much 
draw, with chance 
of miscues, or in- 
deed any shot that 
verges on the won- 
derful in execution. 
Let the other fel- 
low do the marvel- 
ous ones. Take the 
eight-inch draw in preference to the two-foot draw al- 
ways if the chances of good leave are anywhere near 
equal. The count is first in importance, the exactness 
of position second. 

Bad Positions in 18.1. — I have spoken about the dif- 
ference in corner position in 18.1 and 18.2, they being ; 
the more dangerous in 18.1. For that reason, at the 




PLATE 231 






DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



267 




PLATE 232 



268 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 




PLATE 233 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 269 

beginning of your inning if you have an open table 
gathering shot and one way of making it will gather 
the balls in the comer, the other at the end rails nearer 
the middle, take the latter in 18.1. In 18.2 you should 
try for the corner gather on long drives, having better 
chances both to get the gather and handle the balls if 
too close in. Plate 232 shows an example. 

In this plate in A (18.2) you play a dead ball drive 
and gather near the corner. In B (18.1) you go to the 
cushion and gather the balls near the end rail. 

Briefly, here are your tactics: 

In straight rail go for the corners. 

In 18,2 go for the end rail contact points and on long 
gather shots take a chance for the corners. 

In 18.1 keep away from the corners and side rail 
squares. Go for the balk-lines and the end rail squares 
near the contact points. 

Plate 233 gives another simple instance of varying 
choice shots in rail and balk-line play from the same 
position. 

Position Play in Cushion Caroms. — In cushion caroms 
the general line of strategy is the reverse, one may say, 
of the strategy in balk-line. Instead of carrying both 
balls along and keeping them "ahead" of you, it is 
often best to leave one ball behind, so as to get a cushion 
carom leave. You generally plan to leave one ball at 
least near a cushion, and preferably near a corner. But, 
as in straight rail, you keep playing toward corners. 

In cushion caroms the " rub-nurse " is the grand posi- 
tion, having the standing of the " rail-nurse " in straight 
billiards, of the " line-nurse " in balk-line billiards. 



CHAPTER XXXVII 



DON'TS, DO'S, AND POINTS ON PEACTICE 

SOME hints from a life-time of billiard experience may 
not come amiss as to preparation for competition 
billiards. 

In your practice work especially it is impossible to 
overestimate the importance of "system" play. Prac- 
tice one style of shot over and over again, with the 
definite object of making the balls go to certain spots. 
The mere having of definite objective points will wonder- 
fully improve your execution, 

I cannot urge too strenuously that the amateur keep 
firmly in mind the determination not to attempt long 
drives of both balls, to keep going to the end rails, and 
of saving the inches. The points of the "do" and 
" don't " list arising most frequently are these : 

When both balls, in balk-line, are "in" get one near 
the line on the first shot. 

Avoid shots that leave the balls too closely in the 
comer. 

In close work near the line avoid putting both balls 
"in" at once. Leave one out. 

At first it will be conscious mental effort to keep think- 
ing of these things, but after a time it will become second] 
nature. 

What Prevents Flayers Improving. — Right here lei 
270 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 271 

me say that I do not know of anything that prevents 
improvement, that keeps fairly good players back in 
their game so much as making the wrong shot and then 
having it come out well. 

To illustrate: You have a certain leave. From one 
ball you '11 gather near the corner lines. From the other 
farther up toward center table. Suppose you choose the 
latter, make it perfectly and have the balls all together, 
but out in the open table. 

Now up to this point the test of the good or bad 
judgment of the shot is still to come. It comes when the 
balls begin to get separated, and you have to drive. 
That may be several shots later, and you forget about 
that first badly chosen shot. 

Near the end rail you would have more ways of turn- 
ing around. In mid-table you generally have only one 
recovery shot, and that is likely to be a difficult one. 
If you had taken the right shot in the first place, at the 
beginning of the run, you would not now be confronted 
by this dangerous position. 

But here is where the careless player who will not see 
the point keeps wrong. Suppose he gets out of this hole, 
and gets to the ends and goes on. He refuses to see the 
danger that he was in. He will not realize that in a 
majority of cases he would not have gotten out of it. 
And the very next time he will repeat that original error 
and go on doing it, never improving his game. 

The Law of Averages in the Choice of Shots. — In life 
insurance it is an old saying that nothing is so uncer- 
tain as the life of a single person, and nothing is so cer- 
tain as the average life of a large number of persons. 



272 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

And so it is in billiards. Any one poorly chosen shot 
may come out well enough, but it is as certain as fate 
that the average result of constant repetition of this 
same shot will be bad, and that the average result of a 
large number of well chosen shots will be better. 

Now that 's what wins in billiards. That 's what makes 
one man a good player, who is improving all the while, 
the other staying in a rut. And this even though on 
the individual shot the man in the rut may even be the 
more skillful in execution. 

With one you never know just how well he will play. 
With the other you never know just how badly he will 
play. Luck is with one, it is always against the other. 
So stick to your system. 

Don't let the fortunate outcome of a badly chosen 
shot fool you into thinking that it was good billiards 
instead of luclcy billiards. 

Frank Ives attributed his success to the resolve made 
early in his career that he would play the "right shot" 
as a matter of strict system, and if he could not play 
the shot he would master it. 

Say you are in the middle of a run, balls acting, 
kindly. Suddenly they become perverse and you miss ai 
hard one. How did it happen that you had the hard\ 
one to play? It is generally true that the shot that led 
to all the trouble, the breaking up of your control, was 
a poorly chosen or poorly executed one, two, three or 
more points back. The play in whist that determines 
who gets the "odd" trick is generally one of the early 
cards, not the late ones. And in billiards it's the same. 

Analyze Your Game. — Get in the habit of analyzing 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 273 

your own game so as to recognize that guilty shot, and 
steel your mind against repeating it. The habit of self- 
analysis alone will improve your game. 

Cushion CaroTns as Practice. — When I advise cushion 
caroms as part of a program of practice for competitive 
play I do not mean three-cushion caroms. In the latter 
game you use the draw shot very little, and the draw is 
the most important single shot in ball-to-ball billiards. 
You do not use the one-cushion carom, and that is the 
most valuable gathering shot in all cushion work. 

In real cushion caroms you play position all the time 
and you get invaluable practice in open table play. 
Every balk-line player faces the need of skill in this class 
of shots, and failure in it ends his run. It is well enough 
in theory to " avoid the need of making hard shots," but 
it can never be done entirely. 

Most runs are stopped by missing open table shots. 
And every long run must have some of these to make. 

Preparing for Contests. — When preparing for a con- 
test play cushion caroms, say, for a week steadily. Then 
play balk-line up to within a few days of the match. 
Then drop practice work and play pure, hard contest 
billiards, playing seriously and playing to win. The 
earlier practice work will tell its story. 

In the actual contest make the count first, the position 
second. Keep the other fellow in his chair. 

In practice play go for the position shot as perfectly 
as possible, neglecting the chance of not counting. In 
match play make the count sure, the position in its per- 
fection. Let the subconscious effect of your practice 
take care of that. 



274 DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 

On the day of the match it is better to leave the balls 
alone. A half hour before it make a few practice shots 
just to limber up and "get the feel" of things, espe- 
cially draw and nursing shots. But do not keep at it for 
more than ten or fifteen minutes. 

Never change your system in or immediately preced- 
ing a match. 

On Safety Play, — As a general thing don't be a 
"safety" player. Speed wins, not safety play. A 
couple of good runs and you may have the contest all 
your way, "on ice," as we say. Of course, if one shot 
is as good as the other, choose the one that will leave them 
safe if you miss. Or if your opponent has only a few to 
go, and you a good number, you must take every means 
to keep him from scoring. But during the major part 
of the contest safety play is poor tactics. 

As to the Stroke, — Cultivate a smooth, even stroke,, 
with decision in it, not timidity, flowing, not jerky — 
a "measured stroke," as Thomas Gallagher calls it. 
Concentrate mentally on hitting where you aim, and not 
on looking at the second object ball. 

In a good stroke you do not feel your muscles at work. 
They do not "gripe" or tighten up. They have none 
of that contracted feeling, followed by a jerky, explosive 
effort. It is smoothly flowing, "crescendo" — that is, 
increasing in decision toward the end, instead of having 
any feeling of letting up at the end. I have heard it 
said that every good stroke wants in it at the end just 
a little " d — n it," just at the instant of contact. There's 
a good deal in that. 

Now a few more practical hints and we are done. 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 275 

Tips. — See that your cue leather is properly shaped. 
All good cue men understand this. Personally I do not 
favor the overlapping leather. I want a foundation back 
of it. But never have the leather smaller than the cue 
tip, or the tip will split. 

Select a leather neither too hard nor too soft, but 
favor the latter. It holds the chalk better and does not 
become glossy so soon. 

Miscues are due 90 per cent of the time to faulty 
aim. It is very difficult to hit a sphere correctly, as the 
"side" recedes. A little observation will convince you 
of this. Hit the ball properly and you will gain confi- 
dence and make few miscues. Learn to blame your 
delivery and not the tip. 

Always strike the cue ball as near the center as the 
position sought will permit. Hitting too low for draw 
shots is likely not only to "jump" the ball, result in a 
miscue, but may tear the cloth. Hitting too high in a 
follow shot is likely to make the ball bump and go off at 
an angle instead of following. 

Never "lunge" at a ball in order to strike it hard. 
Less force and more accuracy will procure better results. 

As a rule, let the cue man file or sandpaper your cue. 
He understands it better. 

Educate yourself to the same cue as much as possible. 
If playing an important match with a short cue, have a 
long one standing by for long bridge shots. 

No good player can execute all he knows all the 
time. Man is human, not a machine. 

Nearly everyone knows, for instance, how a ring is 
engraved. Only trained muscles can attempt the work, 



276 



DALY'S BILLIARD BOOK 



and oiily a few engravers are " top-notchers." And so 
in billiards. 

No matter how much billiards you know, there is a 
personal equation, partly of nerves, partly of eyesight, 
partly of muscular sense and control, as shown in match 
and tournament play, of that peculiar quality known as 
" class " that sets limits to one's powers. Some men do 
their best under pressure and strain, some do their worst. 

Knowledge Versus Execution. — Given two players, 
one strong on execution, a man repeating the same 
draw or cushion shot fifty times will count forty-five 
times, the other will count, say, only thirty-five times 
— the second man, weaker on execution, might easil 
defeat the other. While he cannot execute so well, h 
can avoid having to make so many hard shots. 

But no matter what the personal equation may be, 
knowing more billiards will never make you play wor 




THE END 



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